All Is Fair In Love & War
by Gatoimp13
Summary: Not long after The White Witch was defeated, signs of her return start to crop up. With Aslan nowhere to be found and a mysterious new girl at Cair Paravel being the least of their troubles, the Pevensies will struggle to keep Narnia in balance.
1. Arrival

**Author's Note- Hey, this is the first fanfic I'm posting, so if it bites, I apologize. I hope it doesn't bite though, and that you enjoy it. By the way, I didn't make up a plot to this, I'm just making it up as I write.**

**Disclaimer & Claimer- I do not own any of the Narnia characters, they are owned by C.S. Lewis. I do own my OC's though.**

An arrow whizzed past Annie's head, blowing a few strands of her brunette hair in her face. She quickly tucked her hair back into her helmet and urged her horse to go faster, which it did easily. _What did I do to them? _She wondered. She was being followed by three archers on horseback. She had been hunting in the forest when they had started chasing her. She had a bow, but she didn't want to fire at them; it would only make the situation worse.

"Come on, we're almost to the castle. Then he'll never get away!" One of the archers shouted.

_I thought Narnians were friendly! _She thought in an irritated way. She looked up to see that they were right. Cair Paravel was right in front of them. _No! This is were the Kings and Queens live! _She thought, starting to panic a little. Annie led her horse to enter the courtyard. Once she was in there, she stopped. The three archers caught up to her and were circling her like voltures. "So, what is someone like you doing in Narnia? We banished your type to _Charn_!" One of them said. They spat the last word like it was poisonous.

"What are you talking about? I'm human!" Annie said.

"_She_ claimed that she was human too!" Another hissed.

Annie realized he was referring to Jadis, the White Witch. "I am **not** on The White Witch's side!" She declared sternly.

"Of course you say that now, in Narnian territory."

Before Annie could argue, a voice shouted. "Enough!" Annie turned to see who had spoken. She saw four kids walking forward, a boy about her age in the front. He had golden hair and deep blue eyes. Following him closely was a younger boy, but not too young, with dark brown hair and freckles. Then there was a girl closer to the first boys age with brown hair and freckles. Then last, there was a girl who appeared to be the youngest of them all.

The three archers and their horses bowed as the kids walked by. Annie sat awkwardly on her horse, not sure what to do. The two boys came up to her horse, but the girls hung back a bit. "I'm sorry about that. Our guards have been a bit paranoid lately." The darker hair boy said.

"With good reason..." The older girl muttered. Annie heard it, though. "If you don't mind me asking, who are you? I'm new to these parts." Annie asked.

"I'm Peter, High King of Narnia." The eldest said.

"And I'm Edmund, King of Narnia." The dark hair boy said with a smile. "Those are our sisters, the queens, Susan, and Lucy." He added, pointing to them when he said their names.

_Oh, of course this is the royalty. I should have known. _Annie thought stupidly. Then she did a quick bow. "I'm sorry, I didn't know that you are royalty."

"It's alright," Peter spoke kindly, which was calming to say the least. "You seem to have had quite an adventure getting here."

Annie shrugged. "Eh, pretty much a basic day. I get chased about a lot." She answered with a slight grin that no one could see through her helmet.

The clock chimed, gaining the attention of the younger king. "Peter, it's time to train," Ed said.

"Oh, right," Peter remembered. "Would you like to train with us?" He offered.

"Sure." She answered. Then Annie hopped off of her horse and was standing next to the boys. She was about Peter's height and age. Ed looked only a couple years younger.

"One of the fauns will take your horse to the stables." Peter said. Then he started walking off with Ed.

Ed turned around. "Come on, this way," he called. Annie followed after them.

**Alright, so a bit of a cliffhanger, sort of. I hope you guys liked it. ).**


	2. Beat By A Girl

**Author's Note- Okay, here's chapter two. I'm going to put a poll up in my profile, so please check that out. A couple reviews would be nice as well. I want to know if anyone's actually reading my story and liking it. Hope you enjoy! =D**

Annie was amazed by the training area. She had never seen so many weapons in one place. Well, except for in battle. "This is amazing." She said softly.

"Thanks, we train here every day." Ed explained.

"And yet, you still can't beat me." Peter joked with a grin. Then he turned to Annie. "So, how are you with a sword?" He asked, unsheathing his.

Annie pulled hers out. "You tell me," she answered before lunging at him. Annie easily blocked Peter's movements, matched his footwork, and counter-attacked. Once he was tired out a bit, she started getting more offensive. He blocked for a bit, but eventually, Annie knocked his sword out of his hands. It skidded across the ground and landed a couple yards away. When Peter looked back, he saw that Annie had a sword pointed at his heart. "So, how am I with a sword?" She asked, grinning.

"Amazing, no one's beat Peter yet!" Ed said enthusiastically.

"Really? Thanks, I guess," Annie said.

"Can I duel you next?" Ed asked eagerly.

"Ed, if I can't beat him, what makes you think that you can?" Peter asked.

"It's worth a shot!" Ed said.

"It's fine by me," Annie replied. She pulled out her sword again and shifted gracefully into a stance. Ed pulled out his broadsword and walked over to her. He took a shot at her head, which she dodged by stepping to the side slightly. Ed tried the same shot again, and Annie dodged it the same as before. She took a step and stood behind Ed. He turned around quickly and brought his sword down on her head. But when his sword hit Annie's helmet, the helmet cracked in half and fell off, and the impact sent Annie to the ground.

"I'm so sorry! Are you okay?" Ed apologized frantically, running to held her up. He stopped dead in his tracks though when he got a good look at her.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Between the helmet and my hard head-" Annie cut off when she noticed both of the boys staring at her. Then it hit her. _My helmet fell off. They can see my face. They know I'm a girl._

"You're a girl?" Ed half asked in disbelief.

"That would be correct," Annie said, not sure what else to say.

Peter just stared. He didn't say anything, which made Annie feel even more uncomfortable. "P-Peter? Your majesty?" She said, trying to snap him back to reality.

Peter snapped out of his trance-like state."I got beat by a girl!" He exclaimed. Annie couldn't help but feel suspicious though. People generally didn't zone out for no reason.

"Now who can't fight?" Ed teased Peter.

Annie almost laughed, almost. "Wait, what's wrong with getting beaten by a girl?" she asked.

"Well, the girls don't really fight around here. I mean, Lucy has a dagger, but she never uses it. Susan is a fine archer, but she hates battle," Peter explained.

"Well that's a bit sexist," Annie said, not really thinking.

Ed chuckled a bit. _This oughta be good. _He thought.

"Girls aren't really suited for combat. They're too delicate and they have trouble hurting people," Peter explained.

"Once again, that's sexist. Not all girls are like that. I just beat you, and I've survived fighting for myself for a long time now," she countered.

"Just because you won one duel and can fend for yourself doesn't mean you're suited for battle. War is a lot different from training," Peter explained.

"You talk as if you know something that I don't," Annie said.

"Well yeah, I do. I've been to war, I know what it feels like to be in a real battle," Peter explained.

"Still, you say this as if I don't," Annie answered.

"Well, I don't think you do," Peter said with a small laugh.

"I beg to differ, King-almighty," Annie said, getting a bit angry now. _He's laughing at me!_

That stopped his laughing. "You've been to war? When?" He asked, still doubtful.

"Multiple times. I fought in battle before you and your siblings arrived, and I fought at the great war against The White Witch." Annie answered seriously.

"You were in that battle?" Ed asked.

"Yes, I'm the one who called for Lucy so she could heal you." Annie said.

Ed looked at her carefully, realizing she was part of the reason he was here today.

"Well, can you tell me your name?" Peter asked.

"It's Annie," She answered simply, still irritated with him.

"Well, Annie, you're welcome to stay in the palace tonight. Ed and I have a meeting," Peter said curtly before walking off, his brother following him reluctantly.

"See you later Annie." Ed said before following his brother.

A faun came up and took Annie to one of the rooms.

**Okay, the next chapter gets a bit deeper into the plot. I hope you're enjoying this fanfic.**


	3. Meetings

**Author's Note- Here's chapter 3. Once again, I hope someone is reading this. I still don't know because I haven't gotten any reviews. If anyone is reading, please enjoy and check out my poll.**

Peter walked into the chamber where he and his siblings held meetings. Susan and Lucy were already seated. Peter sat down in his chair, and Ed sat next to him. "We need to talk about the newcomer," Peter said, beginning the meeting. "We don't know anything about her."

"Her? She's a girl?" Susan asked.

"Yes, she is," Peter said with a sigh.

"We found that out after she kicked Peter's butt in a duel," Ed explained, grinning. Lucy chuckled but Susan raised an eyebrow.

"She's good. But do you think that it could be the person that the rumors are about? The age is right, and she's not from around here; she even admitted it," Peter said.

Lucy spoke up for the first time in this meeting. "I don't think that's enough information to be sure. I mean, there's a lot of 17 year olds that aren't from Narnia."

"You have a point, Lu. So for the time being, any ideas on what we should do about Annie?" Peter said.

Susan gave him a look for using the girl's first name. Peter easily ignored this.

"I say that we let her stay here until we're sure," Ed suggested.

"I agree," Lucy chimed in. "If she's not the one, we'll have kicked her out for no reason. And if she is, you know what they say; keep your friends close and your enemies closer."

"What if she doesn't want to stay?" Susan prompted.

"Oh, I think she'll want to stay. She's at least equally curious about us, if not more," Peter said. Then he stood up and left. Ed, Susan, and Lucy looked at each other for a moment, and then they left too.

"Well, we know that _he's_ curious, to say the least," Susan commented before leaving as well.

Peter entered his bedroom and sat on his bed. He laid down and tried to sleep, but he couldn't. So he decided to go for a walk outside.

Peter was walking along a trail that stretched around the castle and wove through the courtyards. He was listening to the peaceful sounds of the night; Crickets, owls, the breeze, and a swords hitting something. Wait, what? He looked over at the training area to see someone practicing on one of the dummies. He put his arms on the top of the fence that surrounded the training area and swung himself over. The person stopped training and looked up as soon as he touched the fence. _That's weird...how did they know I was coming? _He wondered.

Annie heard the faint noise of hands being placed on the low fence. Then she felt the vibration of feet hitting the ground. She turned to see the High King with a confused expression on his face. "Hello your Majesty." She said, bowing.

"Hello, Lady Annie," Peter greeted, feeling a little odd about the title. "You don't mind if I don't call you Lady Annie, do you?" He asked.

"Please don't," she said, practically groaning that he had actually called her 'Lady' in the first place.

"What brings you out here so late?" Peter asked.

"Well, if you must know, I couldn't sleep, so I came to train instead. And you?" Annie answered, still a little irritated with him for earlier.

Peter noted the irritation in her tone. Their argument from earlier flooded back to him. He had pretty much forgotten it. "Well, I couldn't sleep either. I was talking a walk when I heard your sword massacring the training dummy," He answered.

"Well, I am determined to prove to you that girls can be suited for battle. Even though me beating you in our duel earlier should have been proof enough," Annie said.

Peter took a step closer. "You won't be able to prove that you're battle ready until there's a real battle. As I said before, real battles and training are very different things," he said sternly.

"And as _I_ said before, I know," Annie countered, taking a step closer.

"Next time there's a battle, be there and ready to prove yourself," he challenged, taking a step closer. Now they were standing right in front of each other, only an inch or two apart.

"Believe me, I will," Annie whispered the promise, leaning in a bit. Then they both realized how close they were and shuffled away. There was an awkward silence for a bit.

Then Peter spoke up. "Do you want to go horseback riding tomorrow?" He offered, his tone friendlier than before.

The sudden kindness surprised Annie. She looked at his expression carefully to make sure it wasm't a trick, but saw that he was serious. "Um, alright, sure," She said. "You'd better get some sleep then," She added before heading to her room.

Peter waited a moment until he couldn't see her anymore, and then went to his room, this time succeeding in falling asleep.


	4. Riding

**Author's Note- Here's chapter four. If anyone is reading this, please check out the poll in my profile, review, message me, something. I'd like to know if anyone's reading and what they think. Thank you and enjoy. )**

Annie woke up at five the next morning, like she always does. She dressed herself in her usual clothes, a mens tunic and riding pants. She never wore dresses, even though it meant wearing guys clothes. She grabbed her weapon belt and put it on. Glancing around the room, she caught her reflection in a large mirror. Memories of last night flooded her mind. _I wonder why he wants to go riding? It was kind of random, and we don't really get along. Great, so he's not just a sexist jerk, but he's a __**confusing**__ sexist jerk! _Her train of thought stopped when she felt the vibrations of footsteps coming down the hallway. Then the footsteps stopped. Whoever it was, they were standing right at her door, apparently hesitating to knock.

Peter stood right outside of her door. _Is it too early? Maybe I should just wait until I see her. Susan and Lucy like to sleep in, so maybe it's a girl thing... _He wondered. Then the door opened and Annie peered out at him. "Oh, hello." He said, surprised that she was awake.

"Hey, do you want to go now, or wait till later?" Annie asked.

"Um, let's go now; the forest is amazing in the morning," Peter said. Then, the two of them walked to the stables.

Annie quickly found her white stallion. "Hey boy, ready to ride?" Her horse gave her a whinny and a nod. Annie rode out of the stable and waited for Peter in the field.

Peter rode out on a chocolate brown horse with white flecks. "So, do you know where Lantern Waste is?" he asked.

"Oh, the Lantern in the middle of the woods? Yeah," Annie answered. "I'll race you there!" She added with a grin. Then she took off galloping into the woods. Peter followed, only a bit behind her.

Peter started to catch up, and soon their horses were galloping at the same pace. "So, your majesty, if you don't mind me asking, why the random riding session?" Annie wanted to know.

"First off, if I'm going to call you Annie, you can call me Peter," he said. "And I don't know. You're the first human around my age I've seen in awhile. Which reminds me, my siblings and I want you to stay at Cair Paravel for awhile." He said.

"Maybe, it depends why," Annie answered. She wanted to stay, so much to learn and discover, but she wanted to why they wanted her to.

"Well, it wasn't really an offer. It was more like an order." Peter said. _I can't tell her it's because we suspect her as a threat! _

Annie dug her heels into her horse, urging him ahead of Peter. She was a irritated with him, yet again. _He can't force me to stay! Even if he is King, I don't have to stay! _

"Annie!" Peter called. He urged his horse to go faster, but Annie's horse was fast, so he couldn't catch up. He heard the sound of a sword stabbing into something. He jumped off his horse and ran until he saw the Lantern. When he got there he saw Annie standing in front of a tree. There was a sword pinning her to the tree by the sleeve of her shirt. An armored figure stood near her, their bow ready with an arrow to fire.

Peter ran over to Annie, but before he could free her, the archer released the arrow. It shot forward, clearly going to hit it's target; Annie's heart. Without really thinking about it, Peter moved in front of her and took the hit.

Annie saw Peter get hit with the arrow and fall to the ground. She looked back to glare at the archer, but he was gone. She pulled at the sword even more frantically then before until it came loose. Once she was free of the tree, she knelt down beside Peter. The arrow had hit him in the chest, but on the wrong side. _Good, not his heart, _she thought. Then, she pulled the arrow out as swiftly as possible, forgetting her earlier irritation with him as he winced from the pain. Next she took off his already ripped shirt and examined the wound. It wasn't too deep, but when she looked at the arrow, she saw that it had poison on it.

After muttering a rather unlady-like expletive, she came up with a plan. _Time to heal, s_he though as she opened the water holder on her weapon belt and manipulated some of the water into the air. She moved it gently over Peter's wound a few times, then she pushed it into the wound and left her hands on top, glowing. When she pulled the water back out, there were purple blobs in it. "And that would be the poison," she muttered. Then she manipulated the poison water into her water holder. Since Peter's shirt was ruined, she cleaned up his wound with it, trying to focus on the wound and not, well, him. Because to be honest, he was quite lovely; tanned, in shape, you know, just what regular girls probably fantasized about.

But Annie was far from a normal girl, so she focused on the garish wound instead.

Now that his wound was cleaned out, Peter seemed capable of talking again. "How did you do that?" he asked.

"Well, you see, I-" She didn't normally tell people about her abilities, and with good reason.

But Peter just reached out and tucked a strand of her hair back behind her ear, his fingers lingering on her cheek. "You can tell me, really," he said, sounding sincere and kind; nothing like the boy she had argued with the day before.

"I'm an Elementor," she said, trying to focus on her words instead of his hand on her cheek. He really was quite handsome, but she had seen handsome boys before, and they were all the reminder she needed from herself to get past the King's good looks. "I can control the elements, which there are six of, by the way. Water is excellent for healing."

There was a pause, where Annie was all too aware of the heat radiating from Peter's hand on her cheek. "Are you feeling better now?" She knew he was, thanks to her healing, but she just wanted to break the silence.

"Yes, I'm fine now," he was still speaking in that soft, kind voice. "Thanks to you. I owe you my life."

Annie looked down at the ground. "No you don't, because for a short amount of time, I owed you mine," she admitted reluctantly.

It took him a minute, but he seemed to put it all together about the armored archer that had started this. "I supposed that makes us even, then." His expression changed as something else dawned on him. "And that proves my point. Girls aren't suited for battle. You almost died!"

Annie glared at him, feeling anger not only because of the argument but because the King was back to being a sexist jerk. _No, it's just the argument; he's a sexist jerk, and that's the end of it, _she thought to herself quickly. Out loud, however, she said, "As if you've never almost gotten killed! It's a basic fact of battle. That could have happened to anyone, male or female!"

"Yes, but it would happen more easily to a girl," Peter said. "Besides, you said that next battle you would prove just how suited for battle you are. If I hadn't come, you would have died!"

"Yeah, and then I had to save your life as well! Some magnificent King you are!" Annie retorted.

Peter was glaring now. "I've proved myself over and over again in battle. I can take care of myself, Narnia, and my siblings. And apparently, I can take care of you too," he countered.

"Well, it sounds like you're trying to convince yourself," Annie said. Then, she made a boulder rise from the ground, hopped on it, flew off towards Cair Paravel.

Peter got on his horse and saw that Annie's horse had already left. He started heading home, taking his time and trying not to think about just how powerful that girl he had saved might be.

**I hope you liked it. If you have any suggestions, just tell me. Please check out my poll as well. D**


	5. A Deal With KingBoy

**Author's Note- Hello readers. I know that there's readers now, because I got emails saying that people added this story and me to their alert lists. Plus I got reviews, thank you Princess Lucy & fionagurls1301 D. **

_There were a million things I could have done to save myself back there! I could have manipulated the air to move the arrow. I could have bent the tree to pull the sword out. I could have made the earth underneath that stupid archer rise and send him flying. If Peter would have just given me a chance! Besides, I'm sure he's almost gotten killed just as many times as I have! _Annie was ranting mentally on her way back to the castle. She freaked out the guards a bit when they saw her coming on a flying rock. Ed came out and reassured them that it was okay to let her in. Once she was in and off of the boulder, she was walking with Ed.

"How do you do that? With the boulder." Ed asked.

"Oh, I can control the elements. I'm best with Earth, Water, and Darkness." Annie explained.

"Wow, that's cool!" Ed said.

"Thanks, it's really useful in battle." She said, then she cringed, remembering her argument with Peter.

"What? What's wrong?" Ed asked, worried.

"It's nothing." Annie lied swiftly. "I'll see you tomorrow." Then she went off to the training area.

Ed shrugged, not knowing what else to do. He turned to see Peter running up to him. "Hey Peter." He greeted.

"Hey Ed." Peter said, his tone a little downcast. "Have you seen Annie?" He asked.

"Yeah, I was just talking to her." Ed answered. "To be honest, something seemed off, like she seemed a little mad. Did something happen?" He asked.

"Uh, sort of. I'll tell you later, okay? Thanks!" Peter ran off before Ed could say anything else.

"What is it with people these days? Hasn't anyone heard of goodbye?!" Ed said before walking to his room.

Peter was on his way to Annie's room when he heard someone in the training area. He looked over and saw Annie beating up one of the punching bag dummies. _And she knows martial arts, of course. _He thought. Then he walked over and leaned on the fence. "Excuse me Miss, do you have a spare moment?" He asked with unnecessary formalities.

Annie turned, wondering who the crap was talking to her like that, assuming it was Ed. When she saw Peter, her expression became irritated. "That depends," She started, walking over to the fence. "What for?"

"Well, that battle you were in earlier wasn't a fair situation to judge our disagreement on." He started. "How about tomorrow we have a formal duel in the arena, and the whoever wins the duel wins the argument." He offered.

"Well, it's odd you'd offer that, since last time we dueled, I kicked your butt." Annie said, not wanting any tricks.

"Well, you just caught me off guard that time. I'll be ready for tomorrow." Peter answered.

Annie pondered it for a moment. _I'll be able to beat him again, and it will be fun._ "Fine. Tomorrow night, just after the sun sets." She said. _The moon will be out, I'll be stronger. Plus it will be colder._

Peter thought about the conditions. "Deal." He agreed. They both spat on their hands and shook.

"See you then, King-Boy." Annie said before walking off.

Peter scowled when she called him that. It was clearly an insult, using his title to mock him. It also made him more aware of an oh-so-heavy weight on his shoulders. He tried to shrug it off as he walked to his room, hoping to get some sleep.

**Okay, so I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I should update soon, as usual. Thanks for reading ).**


	6. Running Out Of Time

**Okay, here's chapter 6. I'm surprised that I got so far so fast. I'm sorry to say that in about two weeks school will be starting for me, and I won't have as much time to update. I'll still update, but I'm not sure how frequently. I hope everyone is enjoying this fanfic. **

Annie woke up the next day at 5:00, as usual. She got herself dressed and walked down the corridor. She was stealthily enough that she knew she wouldn't wake anyone up. _I wonder if there's anything to do?_ She thought as she walked. _I might as well train, I'll need to for tonight. _Even though she had beaten Peter in their first duel, Annie was still nervous about the duel tonight. Sure she had won, but he wasn't a pushover. There was also that little voice saying _'What if he __**was**__ telling the truth, and you really did catch him off-guard?' _She had given this voice the benefit of the doubt once and answered it. _That would mean that he's stronger than he was the first time we thought. Oh joy. _After that, she decided to ignore that voice.

She felt the vibrations of footsteps coming towards her. She had no where to hide, so she decided to just keep walking and look natural. _It's not like I'm up to anything. _She reminded herself.

Ed came around the corner and almost walked right into Annie. "I'm sorry." He whispered. "I was looking for you. I know where you can train for tonight. And, you can set up the battle field."

"Okay, lead the way." Annie said. Then she followed him outside. They walked past the training field to an arena. When they got inside, it was a field of grass.

"Work your magic to change things up a bit." Ed said.

Annie grinned. _So I set the field, and I get to practice. This will be fun. _She thought. After swiftly sliding into a stance, she began by un-evening the ground. She made hills, rocks, boulders, ditches. She also removed the grass in a ditch or two, leaving just sand.

Annie heard Ed mutter something like 'Amazing'. She chuckled a bit, then she noticed something. _I'll ask him when I'm done. But it must be him, he looks just like him. _She brought some water into the arena, making a stream that wove all around. She made a pond in the center, but froze it over. Last but not least, she made some trees grow, including a huge one right next to the lake.

Ed clamped once. "Nice job."

Annie jumped up and joined him in the stands. "Thanks." She said. "Um, I know it may be a touchy subject, but were you ever on the White Witch's side?" She asked cautiously.

Ed flinched and his expression became downcast. "Yeah, I was. When I first came to Narnia, she tricked me and I betrayed my siblings. It was my fault too. Aslan died to save me. He came back to life, but still." He explained.

"I'm sorry, it's just that you looked familiar, and I recognized you from her palace." Annie explained. Ed looked at her, confused. "I was a prisoner there for awhile. I survived longer than the other people who were captured when I was because I can survive cold climates easily. I saw you when she locked you up. Your cell was next to Tumnus'. I was on the other side of your cell."

Ed was silent for a moment. "So, do you think you can win the duel tonight?" He asked, changing the subject.

"I'm not sure. I haven't seen Peter's full potential yet, but he hasn't seen mine. He's convinced that girls can't fight, and I want to prove him wrong. He's being an immature, sexist, jerk." Annie answered.

"Well, normally I'd be a little mad that someone just insulted my brother, but that's kind of funny." Ed chuckled.

Annie heard someone coming. "Someone's coming." She warned.

Ed just shook his head. Then he heard someone shout his name. "That would be Peter."

Before Ed could leave, Peter came into the arena. "Ed, what are you-" He stopped when he saw Annie.

"Annie was just setting up the field for tonight. I had to show her where the arena was." Ed answered.

Annie jumped down into the arena. "So, you ready for tonight, King-Boy?" She asked tauntingly.

Peter ground his teeth together. "Ready as ever." He answered through gritted teeth. They both glared at each other for a moment, and then they walked off in opposite directions. _I won't let her beat me! _He thought determinedly.

Ed just watched them walk off, not sure who to follow. "Ed, come help me train." Peter called. Ed started to follow his brother. "Do you think Annie needs someone to train with?" He wondered aloud.

"She'll be fine." Peter said curtly.

Hours passed as Peter trained with Ed. Annie was off in the forest, training on her own. It was good she was alone, because half of her training was just meditation. As Annie was meditating, a figure stepped out of the shadows. "You're running out of time." They said.

Annie had sensed them coming. She was irritated that she had to break her meditation, but she opened her eyes nonetheless. "No, really?" She replied sarcastically.

"Seriously, Annie. Would it kill you to take this seriously?" The figure said.

"Maybe, it sounds a bit too serious." She answered.

"You're such a child! You're 17. You have until you turn 18, remember? Then you'll lose your powers, and after that, you'll start to-" He cut off and looked at the ground.

"Die, I know! Don't you think I feel that pressure every day?" Annie finished for him, raising her voice.

"I died saving you Annie, I don't want that to go to waste." The person said. "Besides, if you find someone else, you'd be happy." He added.

Annie gave them a sympathetic look. "I'd hug you, but it wouldn't work well, considering you're a ghost." She said, lightening the mood.

"Though Aslan told me to remind you about the conditions of the curse." The ghost said. Annie rolled her eyes. "You must fall in love, and the person must return your feelings. You both have to be aware of each others feelings. You have until you turn 18. If you don't meet the conditions by then, you will lose your powers. If you still don't meet the conditions after that, you will slowly die." He explained in a habitual way.

"I know." Annie said. The ghost turned to leave. "And thanks, Mitch."

The ghost smiled, and then he disappeared just as quickly as he appeared.

Annie sighed after he left. _Even when he's dead, he's looking out for me. To think of how close I got to breaking the curse. It was right under my nose! _She ranted to herself. Then she noticed that the sun was almost done setting. She started making her way back to the arena.

**Yeah, I'll write more about her curse later. I just felt like getting more into the plot. By the way, sorry it took so long to update. I thought that I had published chapter 5, but I had only loaded the document. So, you get two chapters in one day. D**


	7. Don't Play Dumb

**Okay, here's chapter seven. I'm glad that I'm writing this, because it's filling up some of the time I'd have nothing to do. Plus it's fun to write. D**

Annie walked into the arena, hoping that she wasn't late. She noticed Susan, Lucy, and Ed sitting in the stands. _Great, an audience. _She thought sarcastically.

Peter saw Annie step into the arena. He had his battle armor on and he had his sword and shield. _This will be easy. She's not even wearing armor._ He reassured himself. He stepped out into the arena and met Annie in the center.

Annie looked at Peter with a determined expression. Peter returned the expression. "Do you need armor?" He asked before he could stop himself.

"I'll be fine.." She answered. Peter gave her a confused look, but quickly hid it. Ed was serving as the referee.

Ed joined them in the arena. "The rules are anything goes, that includes any weapons or magic. No killing though. When I think that someone has won, I'll count to 10, and then I'll say if the battle is over." He explained. "Begin." He said before running back to his seat with his siblings.

Peter pulled out his sword and swung it at Annie. Annie lowered the earth beneath her, making it look like she ducked. Peter watched his sword hit air. _Alright, she's agile, I'll just work around that._ He reasoned. He swung his sword again, expecting her to dodge it. He also moved his foot in her path to trip her.

Annie easily dodged Peter's sword, but she felt the vibrations as he moved his foot. She tripped over it, but hooked her foot around his ankle, pulling him down. Once he was down, she hopped back up.

Ed started counting, but Peter was up before he reached 3. Peter sheathed his sword, deciding to try a new method. "I wasn't going to hit a girl, but I think I'll have to." He said.

"Wow, a sexist jerk even in the face of obvious defeat." Annie countered. Then she manipulated some water from the stream behind her. She froze one end into a handle and held it, the rest serving as a whip. She slashed it at Peter, causing him to hop back. "Besides, won't you have to get a bit closer to hit me?" She added. Peter was at least 3 yards away from her.

_Drat, she's right. But as long as she has that whip, I can't. _He thought. He decided to just run forward and hope for the best.

Annie saw Peter running towards her despite her water whip. She hit him with it, but he just kept coming towards her.

Each time the whip hit Peter, instead of a slashing, burning feeling that most whips leave, he felt a rush of cold and a chill. It was so cold that it was painful. He convinced himself to keep going, almost close enough to attack.

Annie withdrew her water whip. Peter rammed into her as soon as she did. She felt herself fly backwards and crash into a tree. _Wow, he's strong. _She realized. Instead of sliding off the tree to the ground, she let herself sink into the tree.

The other Pevensies were amazed by this. "Is she a dryad?" Lucy wondered aloud.

"No, she said that she could control the elements. Earth is one of her better ones apparently." Ed explained.

"That's odd." Susan muttered.

Peter stared at the tree, trying to make sense of what he had just seen. _Did she just sink into the tree? How the heck? _He wondered.

Annie got a feel for the tree she was embedded in. _Okay, so the roots go out through pretty much the whole arena, perfect. _She noticed. She chose a root and made it shift through the ground. She moved it until it was under Peter. The root broke through the surface and wrapped around Peter's legs.

Peter felt the earth break under him. Next thing he knew, there was a thick tree root holding him in place. He struggled, trying to get out, but he couldn't break through he root. His hand rested on his sword, giving him and idea. He struggled to unsheathe it, but eventually he succeeded. It took a couple hacks with his sword, but he broke through the root. _Now, how can I attack her, if she's in a tree?! _He wondered. _Cut down the tree. _

Peter ran forward, dodging any roots that opposed him. When he got to the tree, he started hacking at it with his sword.

_Crap, I didn't think he'd do that. _Annie thought quickly. She emerged from the tree, standing on one of its higher branches. "Looking for me?"

Peter looked up. _Well, I must look pretty retarded right now. _He thought. Then he pulled out a small dagger Ed had given him, and chucked it at her.

Annie dodged, but not fast enough. The dagger brushed her, slicing her sleeve open a bit, but nothing serious. She jumped down, pulled out her sword and charged at Peter.

Now it was just a simple sword fight. Peter was tired from all of the running he'd been doing. Annie was drawing strength from her surroundings, keeping her energized. "So, how long can you keep going, King-Boy?" She taunted, hoping to distract him.

Peter glared at her. "A few minutes longer than you!" He snarled. He started slashing at her harder and faster.

_Crap, all that did was piss him off. Now he's fighting better, like I do when I'm mad. _Annie realized. She started fighting with only one hand on her sword. She used her other hand to discreetly move a boulder until it was hovering over Peter's head.

Peter didn't notice the boulder, so he kept fighting. Ed started counting, figuring that if Annie dropped the boulder it would kill Peter. Peter heard his brother counting, but he had no clue why. When Ed finished counting, he jumped into the arena. Peter and Annie stopped their sword fight. "Annie is the winner!" Ed declared.

"How?" Peter demanded.

Annie grinned. "Look up."

Peter looked up and saw the boulder floating above him. Annie was still grinning. "You didn't notice since it was night, and there wasn't a shadow." She explained.

Peter glared at her. "So, King-Boy, does this mean that some girls, including me, are suited for battle?" Annie asked.

When she called him that, Peter wanted to rip open her throat, right there and then. But something held him back. He wasn't sure what, but it kept him from killing her. Then he realized something. _Even if something wasn't holding me back, I still wouldn't be able to kill her. She'd probably defend herself too well. _This just made him even angrier. I'm the High King. _There shouldn't be anyone stronger than me! Not a human at least. I've never seen a human do what she does, with the elements. Maybe she's not human. Maybe the rumors were right, and she's the same as Jadis._

Annie didn't like the look Peter was giving her. He looked like he was afraid of her, and wanted to to kill her. She opened her mouth to say something, but Peter spoke instead.

"Guards, take her to the dungeon." Peter ordered. It didn't sound like Peter though. His voice sounded harsh, cruel. Not like him at all.

Ed looked at his brother in shock. Lucy did the same, not sure why her oldest brother was doing this. Susan kept herself composed, but a hint of confusion was hinted in her expression.

A few guards came up and grabbed Annie. As they pulled her off, she didn't take her eyes off Peter. "What did I do?" She asked. Then she added, "Your Majesty" She wanted to make it clear that he was no friend of hers right now.

"Don't play dumb, Lady Annie." Peter said, still glaring. He knew that if Annie really needed to escape, she probably could. _She's in too deep. She doesn't want to get in more trouble. _He reasoned.

Annie glared even more harshly when he called her Lady Annie. "At least I'd have to play." She said before the guards took her out of the arena.

The guards locked Annie in a prison cell in the castle dungeon. She convinced herself to sleep, not knowing what else to do.

**Okay, for those of you who know the show Avatar The Last Airbender, Annie's elemental powers are a lot like the bending on that show. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. It's a bit longer than usual, but I had a lot of fun with the battle. D**


	8. Promises

**Okay, here's chapter 8. Wow, almost at 10. I'm starting school in a week or so, but there's talk about a strike, so I have no clue what's going on! I'll try to update not matter what life throws at me D.**

Annie heard a banging on her cell door. She opened her eyes to see one of the guards standing there. "Wake up, the High King is coming!" He said urgently.

Annie hadn't been asleep, just deep in thought. She felt her heart start to pound frantically. "What? Why?" She asked, trying not to panic.

"He wants to talk to you, so he came to retrieve you himself." The guard explained. He opened the door and pulled Annie out. Then he pushed Annie in another direction. It was really dark, and Annie didn't feel like trying to see what was going on around her. She felt herself fall into someone. _Peter.. _She guessed. Then a hand grabbed her wrist tightly and pulled her out of the dungeon.

Once they were out of the dungeon, Annie could see again. It was Peter pulling her, but he was walking ahead of her, keeping his face turned away from her. She wanted to say something, but she knew that he'd just ignore her.

They came to an empty room, and Peter pulled Annie in and locked the door behind him. "How could you? You lied to me, and my siblings! I trusted you, Ed trusted you, Lucy trusted you. Heck, she even looked up to you a bit! Susan was starting to trust you too!" He shouted.

"I never lied to any of you!" Annie pleaded.

"You told us that you weren't on the White Witch's side, that you were human! Humans can't control elements! You're the one that the rumors were about. The White Witch sent you in as a spy. You're the same thing **she** is, whatever that is. It's definitely **not** human though!" Peter shouted back.

"Peter, you have to believe me!" Annie's voice was becoming strained. For the first time in 3 years, she felt tears coming. "I am human, and I don't work for the White Witch!" She felt a tear roll down her cheek.

Peter saw Annie start to cry. He felt a bit of pity, or guilt, he wasn't sure which. "Then explain yourself." He demanded, still angry.

Annie took a deep breath. It had been ages since the last time she had told anyone about her curse. "When I was young, I was cursed. The curse gave me the ability to control the elements. If I don't meet the requirements of the curse by the time I turn 18, I'll lose my elemental powers. After that, if I still don't meet the requirements, I'll die."

Peter looked at her, not sure what to say. "W-why didn't you mention this earlier?" He asked.

"It's my problem, not yours." Annie said simply, and a bit bitterly.

Peter took a step closer and put his hands on her shoulders. "If it's your problem, then it's my problem." He said, looking her right in the eye. "What are the requirements?" He asked.

Annie didn't want to tell him, but when she looked into his deep blue eyes, she felt the words almost start to slip out. Almost. "I-I can't tell you." She said, looking at the floor.

Peter lifted her face up by her chin. "I'll help you, I promise."

"The only chance you have of helping me is if you don't know the conditions. It doesn't make sense now, I know. But eventually it will." Annie answered.

Peter thought for a moment. "Fine. Just please, tell me if you break the curse." He said.

"I will." Annie promised.

"And if you're about to run out of time..." Peter started.

Annie remembered back to the last time she got close to breaking the curse. _We both loved each other, but we didn't know it. It was right under my nose, and then he died. I won't let that happen again! _"I'll tell you." She finished for him.

"I will help you break your curse, I prom-" Peter tried to promise, but Annie covered his mouth with her hand.

"You have no clue what you're promising." She warned a bit sternly.

Peter opened his mouth to object, put Ed came into the room. "Peter, The White Witch is coming. We need to get ready for battle." He said, fear visible on his face.

"Alright," Peter started. "Ready the troops. I'll join you once I'm in my armor."

Ed nodded before dashing down the hallway. Annie turned to Peter. "So, do I have permission to fight?" She asked.

"Are you going to fight regardless of my answer?" Peter asked.

Annie grinned. "Of course."

"Yes, you do. I want you to fight right by my side." Peter said. Then the two of them ran off to get ready for battle.

**Okay, I hope you liked this chatper. If you could review, that would be great, because I haven't had that many reviews yet. D**


	9. The Battle

**Okay, sorry it took so long to update. It's ragweed season, so my allergies are horrid. I got some x-rays taken too, and that was not a fun experience. I had writers block for a bit, which really bites P. I'm supposed to be in school, but the teachers are striking, so at least that gives me more time to write. Thanks for waiting D.**

The Narnian army was out on the battle field. Peter stood on a boulder in the center where he could see everything. Edmund was standing on his right side, as usual, and Annie was on his left. They could see The White Witch's army, and surprisingly, it wasn't that much bigger than their's. "Well, that's a plus we weren't expecting." Annie mumbled through gritted teeth. She hated Jadis so much.

Peter nodded, noticing how angry she was. _If I say something, it could be the wrong thing to say, and it could piss her off, so I'll stick to not saying anything. _He decided.

Jadis silenced her army. "This is your last chance, Sons of Adam & Daughters of Eve," She began, "I'm giving you the chance to surrender."

Annie shook her head at Peter. "Don't." She said in less than a whisper.

Peter didn't need anyone to tell him that decision. "Never Jadis, prepare to meet your doom!" He shouted back.

"Fools." Jadis said. "CHARGE!" She ordered her army.

As Jadis' army was charging at them, Peter raised his sword and shouted; "For Narnia!!" Annie and Ed followed suit. Then, the Narnian army charged into battle.

Peter and Ed headed right for Jadis. Annie fought enemies that were possibly to tough for most of the soldiers. She would adjust the terrain to help out the Narnians.

For awhile, everything was going fine. That was, until a sword flew past Annie's head, almost decapitating her. She noticed that it was Peter's. After grabbing it, she ran at full speed to where Peter and Ed were fighting Jadis.

To her dismay, she saw that Ed had been knocked out. She quickly tossed Peter his sword, pulled out her own, and started fighting Jadis.

Peter joined in, glad Annie had come when she did.

Jadis glared harshly at Annie. "So, it's you again." She spat.

"Yeah, long time no see, murderer." Annie retorted.

Peter had no clue what they were talking about, so he just kept fighting.

"This time, you will come with me." Jadis declared. Then she grabbed Annie and signaled for her army to retreat. "Leave the other girl here." She added.

One of the wolves tossed a girl with golden hair to the ground. Then, Jadis' army began to retreat. Jadis still was standing by Peter with Annie in her grip. "You don't know her full potential. But I do." She said.

"GIVE HER BACK!" Peter shouted.

"Come and get her yourself." Jadis challenged.

Peter was about to, when Annie stopped him. "Peter don't! You don't need to die! I'll be fine."

Peter stopped, hesitantly.

"Just remember, I love you." Annie said.

Jadis laughed evilly. "How cute. Well, this is like deja vu, maybe I should kill him, just so it matches the last time."

Annie's words shocked Peter. "I-I love you too." He said softly.

Annie smiled. "Thanks. I'll come back, I promise!"

Then, Jadis disappeared, taking Annie with her.


	10. Free At Last

**Sorry it's been a bit of a time gap since my last update. I wasn't sure what to write, but now I have an idea. It would be nice to get a few reviews. **

Peter shook his head sadly. Lucy was going around and healing the wounded soldiers. Ed rand up to him, panting. "Peter, that girl that Jadis left here, she can heal!" He exclaimed.

"What? Where is she?" Peter asked.

"Come on, I'll show you." Ed called, already walking.

Peter followed him to where the golden haired girl was healing a centaur. "Hello, I'm Peter, and this is my brother, Edmund. Who are you?" Peter asked.

The girl looked up at him, already knowing who he was. "I'm the unlucky person that Jadis captured before she found that other girl." She answered bitterly.

"Do you know why she captured you?" Edmund asked.

She rolled her eyes, clearly thinking it was obvious. "She's trying to find a second in command, and she wants someone who can control elements, like you friend." She explained. "She killed her last second in command, her own son." She added in disgust.

Peter couldn't believe this. He stabbed his sword into the ground. That calmed him down a bit. "So do you have a curse on you?" He asked.

She tilted her head to the side. "No, why would I?"

"Well, my friend, Annie, has a curse on her, and that's how she can control elements." Peter explained.

"Oh, well I was born with my abilities, but I can only control water. But I can heal." She answered.

"Would you like to stay with us, at Cair Paravel?" Edmund offered.

Peter gave him a look. "We don't even know her name."

The girl sighed, rolling her eyes. "My name is Gwen, and sure I'll stay, I don't have anywhere else to go."

That pretty much settled things. Another year went by, and Gwen lived with them the entire time. She served as their main healer, and a great warrior as well. But, after a year and a half passed, Peter was sure that Annie had turned 18, which meant she had run out of time. He tried not to let anyone notice, but it made him so sad. He knew that she was probably dead by now, if not dying.

After that year long gap, Peter's siblings got worried about him. One day, Ed decided to cheer him up, or at least try.

Ed happily entered Peter's room. Well, at least he looked happy to Peter, everyone looked happy and over peppy to him. _Probably just a comparison to myself. _He thought sadly.

"Peter," Ed started, hoping to get his brother's attention. Peter looked at him for a moment, and then looked away. Ed continued anyways. "Let's go riding, please? You have to do something."

Peter opened his mouth intending to refuse, but he decided it wasn't worth arguing. "Fine, let's go." He said, getting up.

After the two boys had their horses saddled, they rode into the woods. They rode in silence for awhile, but Ed finally got the courage to speak. "Peter, are you okay? You've been so...depressed lately. You won't even let us try to help you. You won't even talk to Gwen, who gives the best advice!"

Peter took in a deep breath to keep himself calm. "No Ed, I'm not okay. Not only is A-" He cut off, stopping himself from saying her name. Every time he said her name or thought about her too much, the hole in his heart ached. "Not only is she gone, but she has to be 18 by now." He continued. Peter had told his siblings about Annie's curse, figuring there was no point in keeping it a secret any longer. "That means she ran out of time, and she's either dead or dying." He choked out.

Ed didn't know what to say, nothing seemed to help ease his brother's pain. He was going to urge is horse back into motion, when one of Jadis' wolves emerged from the bushes.

Without giving either of the brothers time to react, the wolf snarled and lunged itself at Peter. Ed opened his mouth to call out Peter's name, but he stopped when he heard the 'twang' of a bow releasing an arrow.

The arrow that Ed had heard plunged right into the wolf's side, sending him to the ground with a pitiful yelp. The icy minion retreated, staggering away as fast as it could.

Peter looked at Ed questioningly. Ed merely shrugged, looking in the direction the arrow had came from.

Gwen stepped into view. "You guys really need to be more careful. I mean, if you're going to act like idiots, at least have some back up." She said, crossing her arms. "I'm not an archer, so you're lucky I made that shot."

"I am in your debt," Peter said gratefully, "But what do you think we should do to protect ourselves in the future?" He asked. He and his siblings had learned to value Gwen's advice and reasoning over the last year or so.

"Well, I think that your army could use some additions. We lost a lot of warriors in the last raid," Gwen stated, "Maybe it's time to recruit."

"It sounds like a good idea to me." Ed agreed. "But we'd have to train them."

"Well that part may not be an easy thing to do, but we'll just have to set up a training camp." Peter concluded. "Come on, let's go and get started." He said before riding off. Ed rode next to him, and Gwen kept pace, running on top of the water in a nearby stream.

All of the wolves ears pricked up when they heard a 'thud' in the silence of Jadis' Castle. Immediately, they padded towards the source of the sound.

In one of the many identical corridors, a group of Jadis' 'warriors' were making their escape. The group consisted of six people, all ready to get out of this icy cage. Annie had taken action, fooling Jadis into trusting her for almost a year. But once she met up with her new friends, they fabricated a plan.

Annie had met up with her older brother, Dante. He's two years older than her, making him 20. He has the same hair color as her, only with a bit of red in it. His eyes are green, but much brighter, like a lime almost, while Annie's are deeper.

Her other allies are people she met in the past year here. All four of them had their own story, one that they had anticipated a tragic ending for, until tonight.

The thud noise had been caused by one of the younger members slipping on the icy floor and falling. Poor Conan, he had never liked ice, or anything cold for that matter. The four years he had been here had been torture for him. Even though he's fifteen, he's only 4'8", and has a very boyish appearance, with his messy dirty blond hair, and his big brown eyes.

The 17-year-old of the group quickly grabbed Conan and pulled him up. This boy's name was Demetri. He had a graceful and noble way of carrying himself. He had met Conan before they were imprisoned. He always kept an eye out for Conan. Before Conan could make a sound, he covered the younger boy's mouth, holding a finger to his own. Demetri had been 'recruited because of his magical abilities, and of his skill in archery. He nodded at Annie, their sign that she needed to open her mind to him so he could communicate with her.

_The wolves are coming. We need to split up and meet outside. I'll go with Dante and Conan through the back up exit we planned. _He explained.

_Right, I'll take the twins out through the original exit plan. I'll meet you at Lantern Waste. _Annie answered.

Demetri nodded and ran off with Dante and Conan. Annie shuddered as she saw him run. _He seriously is just like Mitch._ She extinguished the thought so she could concentrate, turning to the two youngest members of the group.

Every time she looked at the twins, she couldn't help but grin a crooked half grin. They were identical, despite the fact that one, Duff, was a boy and other, Akari, a girl. Their silver eyes shone, even without the moonlight that was currently reflecting off of the ice. They both had messy black hair that covered their ears, but no longer, just the right length of be fit for either a male or female. Neither of the twins remembered why or how they got stuck in this dump, but Dante had a theory. He thought that their experience was so bad, that both of them unintentionally repressed the memories of it to their subconscious.

The twins had developed their own secret language. For some reason, they both shared a mind. This made them unacustomed to speaking, so they used sign language. Annie had quickly learned. She signed to them. _"Follow me, we're going to meet the others at Lantern Waste."_

Both of them nodded and followed without question. Annie easily evaded the wolves, only once having to bend ice as a diversion. She finally relaxed a bit when they were almost at Lantern Waste, just to be unsettled again, wondering if her brother and his half of the group would be there.

As they were running, Akari looked over at Annie. "Annie, where are we going to go now? We don't have a home." She asked. Duff's face seemed to show the exact same concern.

Annie thought carefully before answering, not a common habit for her. "Well, before I was captured, I was living with the Narnian royalty in Cair Paravel." She started. "But I don't want to go back there, it would be...awkward." She thought about Peter, and how broken he had looked when Jadis had pulled her away. She had felt his emotions, and she was almost 100 sure that he wouldn't want to see her again. Though he had helped her break her curse, by saying that he loved her. She sighed to herself, coming back to reality. "No, we won't be living in Cair Paravel, but I would like to enroll in the Narnia army. The rest of you may do what you wish." She not-so-secretly hoped they would do what she did.

"Annie, we're with you no matter what." Duff said, as if Annie was stupid for assuming otherwise.

"Dante won't-" Akari started,

"Leave you-" Duff joined in,

"Again unless-"

"He absolutely-"

"Has too." They both finished simultaneously.

"Conan will seize any chance to become a better warrior he can get," Akari noted.

"And that means that Demetri will follow too." Duff added for his sister.

Annie nodded. Most people would get confused or irritated by how the twins spoke, but she was used to. She actually thought it was really cool.

Annie stopped running and let out a huge sigh of relief. There was Dante, leaning on the Legendary Lantern. Conan was hanging upside down from a tree branch, and Demetri was drawing a diagram in the snow. "What took you guys so long?" Conan asked playfully. He tried to swing down, but wound up falling face first in the snow. When he pulled himself up, more snow from the tree he had been in fell on top of him.

Demetri's diagram got covered in the snow that Conan knocked down. "So, what's the game plan?" He asked.

Annie noticed that everyone, even her brother, was looking at her as their leader. She took in a deep breath. "Alright, as you know, I was previously staying in Cair Paravel with the Royal Siblings." She began. "I do not wish to return to that. My plan is to enroll in the Narnian army if I can. Duff and Akari already deicided that they are going to join me, but obviously it's your own choice what the rest of you do." She explained.

Dante looked at his little sister, showing her that he didn't need to even think about it. "I'm going with you. But won't they recognize you?"

"No, not after I'm done." Annie answered with a small grin.

Dante didn't even bother pressing any further, seeing that he'd know soon enough.

"I want to fight for Narnia! I'm coming too!" Conan exclaimed excitedly once the snow was mostly off of him.

"I'll come too. I saw a poster on our way here that said there was going to be a training camp for new army recruits. We should go tomorrow, that's when it starts." Demetri explained.

"Right, but tonight, we'll rest here." Annie agreed. _Observant as ever. _She bended the earth into a cave they could stay in for the night.

Everyone crawled in, and sleep came easily to them, except for Annie that is, who hadn't slept well most of the nights since she had left Peter. She even envied the twins, who often had extremely vivid dreams that tended to come true.

**Alright, sorry it took me so long to update. I had major writer's block, and school had started. Plus I have a nasty cold, which takes a lot out of me. I just hope people are still reading and that you enjoyed this longer chapter and the new characters.**


	11. Potential

**Okay, I'm trying to update faster than I did last time, which shouldn't be hard, since I had tons of issues in the way last time flicks issues off of table while smiling. So, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter! **

Annie woke up to see the snow falling softly, still. _Does it ever stop snowing these days? _She wondered. As much as she loved the cold and the snow, this snow just meant that Jadis was stronger than before.

After the first rays of light were reflecting off of the ice, Annie's other companions awoke. "So, I'm assuming you know where we're going." Dante said, looking at the shadow his sister stood in.

Annie nodded. "It's not far from here." She answered.

Demetri finished checking the feathers on all of his arrows. "So, last night you mentioned that you were sure they wouldn't recognize you. How are you going to insure that?" He asked as he walked over.

"Easy," Annie started, "I already did." She emerged from the shadow she had been standing under, and her friends noticed the changes. She was a lot paler than when she had been captured, and, her hair now hung only an inches or so below her ears. Her hair was ruffled too, so now it looked messy, more like Duff and Akari's hairstyle. "I will be going undercover," She explained, "As a guy."

"But why?" Conan asked curiously.

"Well, I doubt that Peter would let a girl even try out for his army, unless there was a special reason." Annie answered. "He can be a little...sexist." She added.

Akari stepped forward. "I can already pass for a guy." She said before anyone could ask.

"Yeah, people always mistake you for me." Duff added.

"That's a great plan, but Annie and Akari are distinctly female names." Demetri observed.

"Well that's easily solved, we'll just use guy names." Akari said as if it was obvious, which it was to her.

"Right," Annie agreed. "I'll go as...Mitch." She decided, knowing she'd respond to that name almost as if was her own.

Demetri looked at her curiously, which sent a chill down Annie's spine. _He's so much like Mitch, and yet he feels like a brother to me, while I loved Mitch just like how I loved Peter. _Her train of thought halted with pain after thinking about Peter. She had learned to let go of her past feelings for Mitch, but she still missed her old friend. Even how much she missed her only friend growing up wasn't as much as she missed Peter.

Akari could tell Annie was in pain for some reason. "I'll go as Ace. I've always liked that name." She announced simply. No one questioned her, which seemed to happen a lot.

"Alright, so let's get the heck out of here then!" Conan said impatiently.

The rest of the group laughed at Conan's impatience. "Alright Annie," Dante started, "I mean Mitch, lead the way." He corrected, motioning towards the cave entrance.

Annie nodded, and stepped outside of the cave. Once everyone was out, she returned the ground to its original state. "I'm sure you guys can keep up, but if anyone needs to stop, just let me know." She said before started to run. She made the snow freeze underneath her boots so that she could skate, increasing her speed.

Dante was a pretty fast runner, so he didn't need any assistance. He just ran, staying a pace or two behind his younger sister.

Conan took advantage of his shape-shifting abilities, and turned into a rabbit. He darted and hopped along, easily keeping up with Annie.

Duff just liked to run. He had a light build, so he was pretty fast. He was very agile and flexible, so he tended to kick off trees, or swing from branch to branch, barely touching the icy ground at all.

Akari however, had a slightly different travel style then her brother. Akari just had pure speed. She ran as fast, if not faster, than a sprinter, only for long distances. She ran quietly and stealthily too, barely making any noise.

Demetri used magic to keep up. The spell he used most was one that moved the air around him in a direction that pushed him forward to accelerate his running.

Once an hour had passed, Annie exited the forest. She stopped abruptly, melting the ice from the bottom of her boots. She looked in the puddle the ice left, and saw her reflection. Her mouth formed a small 'o'. She was so used to her hair being long, that its new length was a shock to actually see, even though she had cut it. Then she noticed her skin. She knew that obviously she wouldn't have a tan anymore, but she was extremely pale. _Well, at lest I won't have to worry about them recognizing me. _She told herself.

Sensing that the rest of her group had caught up with her, she turned to address them. "Cair Paravel is very close by." She began, motioning at the castle now in view. "When we arrive, we'll go to where ever they are training new recruits. First, we need to get our stories straight." She added.

Dante stepped forward and turned, standing next to her. "I'll say that I'm you're older brother, which is true. I want them to at least be aware of the fact we're related."

Annie nodded. "Fine. Akari, Duff, I'm assuming you'll be posing as siblings?" She said her assumption more like a question, since no one could ever be sure with the twins.

"Yes," Akari started.

"We'll tell them-" Duff continued.

"That we're twins,"

"Only we'll say that we're both,"

"Boys obviously." Akari finished.

"Right. Demetri, Conan, what about you two?" Annie asked.

Demetri thought for a moment. "Well, I was considering saying I was Conan's older brother, but we don't look enough alike." He explained. "I'll just say that I traveled with you guys as a friend."

"I'll do the same." Conan answered, seeming eager to finish and leave.

Annie looked over the group one last time. She was glad that Akari, like herself, preferred boys clothes. "Well, let's go then." She said. With a deep breath, she darted off, heading for her previous home.

Peter and Ed had just finished watching the people who were interested in enlisting in the army. They had found about 20 people who seemed fit. "Is there anyone else?" Peter asked dolefully.

Ed didn't think there was, but then he saw a group of six people coming towards the training camp. "Yep, six more suckers." He answered unenthusiastically.

Annie and her group came up to the table the Kings were sitting at. "I'm Mitch, and these are my friends. We'd like to enlist in your arm." She said, purposely looking mostly at Ed. _I can't bear to look at Peter too long, how freakishly pathetic! It's probably better that way anyways. _She thought.

"Well, show us what you've got." Peter said in a tired tone.

Annie looked at Dante for assurance, and he nodded. She took a deep breath, stood tall with her feet together, and folded her hands in front of her. She simultaneously released the breath, unsheathed her sword, and swung it around in front of her. She slashed through the air, her breathing still keeping pace with her actions. She continued her advanced display of swordsmanship until her pattern was complete, and she sheathed her sword.

Ed and Peter looked at her, surprised. "Very good." Ed said.

"Next." Peter ordered.

Dante stepped forward. "I'm Mitch's older brother." He introduced. Dante displayed a harsher style of swordsmanship, and also showed his skill with his dagger and shield.

When he was done, both Kings nodded and motioned for the next person to present them self.

Demetri stepped forward. "I'm Demetri. Unlike my companions you just observed, I don't use a sword. I'm an archer and a Spellcaster." He explained. He showed them a series of spells, like juggling fire, and altering rays of light, and turning invisible, which little did Peter and Ed know was related to the light rays. He then showed his abilities as an archer, which were superb. He also combined his magic with his archery, shooting ice and fire arrows.

"Good, next." Peter said.

Conan stepped forward. "I'm Conan, I can shape-shift." He announced.

"Wait, how old are you?" Peter asked. _He looks like he's Lucy's age._

"I'm 15." Conan said, clearly having answered this question a million times.

"I'm sorry, carry on." Peter said apologetically. Annie couldn't help but chuckle. _He's never been good at interpreting others. _She remembered.

Conan was eager to show off his abilities. He transformed into a rabbit, wolf, hawk, dog, and a deer. "How was that?" He asked excitedly.

Ed chuckled a bit. "Great."

"Next." Peter said.

Akari came up. "I'm Ace, that's my Twin, Duff." She introduced, motioning at Duff as she spoke. She demonstrated her acrobatic skills, do a series of twists, twirls, spins and jumps. Her flexibility and speed amazed Peter and Ed.

"Alright, Duff, you're up." Ed said.

Duff came up. "I mostly use archery and martial arts." He performed a one man spar, and then showed his accuracy by shooting at some nearby trees. He stepped back when he was finished, standing in line with his friends.

Peter and Ed stood up. "Alright, all of you have potential, but you need training. You are welcome to join are training camp." Peter explained.

_Potential!? Ugh, if only he knew the true extent of our abilities! Especially mine! But if I do anything elemental, it'll be a giveaway._ Annie ranted mentally.

"When will we start training?" Dante asked.

"Be here tomorrow at Dawn." Peter said before walking off. Ed nodded to the group before following his brother.

"Alright guys, we're in." Annie said.

Conan grinned and jumped in the air. "Oh yeah!"

Demetri ruffled Conan's hair. "Alright, you are way too excited for this." He said jokingly.

Duff and Akari chuckled. "So,"

"Where will-"

"We camp?"

Annie looked around. "Uh, there's an empty tent over there." And with that, the group that had been captives of Jadis a day or so ago entered the tent they'd stay in until tomorrow, when their training would begin.

**Okay, this was once again, a bit longer than usual. I didn't expect this one to be long, and I didn't fit everything I wanted to, so a lot of stuff got pushed to the next chapter. I hope you enjoyed it! Please review!**


	12. The Tables Turn

**Okay, I just want to thank you guys for sticking with me and this story, even after that huge gap between 9 and 10. So, to my great pleasure, here is chapter 12. **

Annie woke up at her usual early time the next morning. She didn't try to wake up as early as she did, her body just woke up then. She liked it though, it gave her some time to herself, and she beat the sun up.

Stepping outside of the tent, she found a post that had rubber tied around it, clearly for practicing punches and kicks. She lined up in a balanced stance, ready to attack the post from any angle. She took in a sharp breath, shifting her body so most of her weight was supported in her back foot. She released the breath, and simultaneously shifted her weight forward, driving her jab into the post. When her hand, not even in a fist, connected with the post, the wood within the rubber snapped, shooting the fragment she had broken up into the air. _Crap, I already broke something. How long have I been here?_

She held her hand out, waiting for the wood to fall back down. When it did, it landed right back in the post. "That works too." She muttered.

Her body tensed immediately as she felt the vibrations of footsteps approaching. She turned to see who was coming, and mentally kicked herself when she saw it was Peter.

"Mitch, you're up early." Peter greeted.

"Yeah, just a habit I have." Annie answered. She was glad that her voice had changed a bit over the last year, that way she didn't have to alter her tone as much.

"Well, since you're up, make sure your group comes to the main clearing in about 30 minutes." Peter instructed.

Annie watched as he walked away. _Well, he doesn't recognize me._ The thought made her happy and sad, but mostly sad. _Shut up! It's better for everyone if he doesn't recognize me. _She told herself.

"Better for everyone but you." Annie turned, startled that she hadn't notice anyone coming. Demetri was standing behind her. "Sorry, your mind wasn't guarded."

"I-it's okay. You just surprised me." Annie said feebly.

"No, you're hurt." Demetri said, concentrating deeply about something. "It's weird, even though I know I just met you when you were captured, I feel like I know you." He looked like he wanted to say more, but he just shook his head. "Annie, don't do anything that hurts yourself."

Annie thought of how similar he was to Mitch, and how he thought that he knew her. _Could those two things be...related? _She wondered.

"I've got things under control." She assured him, knowing he didn't buy it. "Alright everyone, get your lazy bums out here!" She called.

About 20 minutes later, the whole group was up and dressed. They had their weapons, and they were ready to go.

Conan, Duff, and Akari seemed hyper. Dante was as relaxed as ever, which was his way of hiding nervousness. Annie cocked her head to the side, knowing he knew what she was asking just by the simple motion. Regardless, her brother merely shook his head, leaving Annie with an unsatisfying answer.

Annie narrowed her eyes a bit, but quickly shook off her curiosity. _I need to be focused._ She reminded herself.

Demetri was pretty calm, as usual. "So, should we go now?" He asked.

"Yep, follow me everyone." Annie answered. She began walking towards the training area with her group following her.

When the group entered the main clearing, Annie was surprised to see there weren't that many other people. About six, so only a dozen people including her group. The other people were stretching, punching things, and sparring. _Good, everyone's just warming up. _She thought.

Peter was leaning on a punching bag, talking to Edmund. There was a girl with blonde hair talking with them. Annie saw the other girl roll her eyes a couple times, which made Annie smile faintly. Then the girl looked over at her, as if Annie had called her name. The girl's golden brown eyes seemed to see right into Annie's soul. Annie double checked and reinforced her mental barriers, just in case. _I wonder who she is..._

Dante nudged Annie, making sure she didn't space out. Then he took out his sword and started stretching. He always stretched while holding his sword, that way it felt more like an extension of his body, just another muscle to stretch. Conan ran up to him excitedly, his dagger already unsheathed. Dante sighed and stopped his stretches. They began sparring, as they did whenever they had free time.

Demetri chuckled quietly at Conan's eagerness. He sat down under a tree and began meditating, which prepared him for spellcasting, and also heightened his senses.

When Annie looked, Duff and Akari were already sparring. They were both very well rounded fighters. They both knew a little magic, and had some practice with most weapons. Akari had a sharper wit and mind than her brother, but Duff had great instinct, which was paired well with a bit of impulsiveness.

Once Annie was sure that her group was settled in, she walked over to Peter, Ed, and the other girl. She had already warmed up this morning. "So, is this everyone?" She asked.

"Yeah, we have two training camps, but this one is smaller." Ed answered. "This one is for the more skilled warriors."

Annie heard Peter mutter something like; 'I hope so'. Her eyes narrowed, and she almost snapped a comeback at him, just like the old days. She stopped herself though, knowing she couldn't do that.

The other girl gave Peter a look, and Annie couldn't help but smile a bit. Ed started laughing at his brother, which clearly irritated Peter. "Alright everyone!" Peter called. He stepped forward and waited for the group to assemble in front of him.

Dante dragged Conan over, and Demetri took care of Duff and Akari. Annie walked over and joined her group.

"Alright," Peter began, appearing serious. Annie knew he was trying to look tougher than he was. "Out of everyone who auditioned, the twelve of you seemed the most advanced. That's why you're at this camp." He explained. "I'm going to divide you into three groups of four, and each group will be training with either one of the Narnian warriors."

Edmund and Gwen, the girl Annie had noticed, stepped forward. "One group will go with Peter, another one with me," Ed elaborated.

"And the third will go with me." Gwen finished. Gwen focused her attention on Annie, as if she was solving a puzzle.

Annie stared right back at Gwen, wondering that the crap her problem was. Then she sensed it. After years of searching for someone with the same abilities as the ones her curse had given her, she had learned to sense when other people had the same talent. Most of the time anyways. _I don't think she can control every element though, just one. Water, I think._

Peter began listing the groups. No one Annie knew was in Ed's group. Duff and Demetri were in Gwen's group along with two other people they didn't know. _Dang, why did he separate the twins? _She wondered in an irritated manner.

"And last but not least,my group will be Akari, Conan, Dante, and Mitch." Peter finished.

Annie mentally smacked herself. _Of course I'm in Peter's group. Why oh why? For the love of talking animals! _

Ed took his group to the Archery Fields to start, and Gwen was keeping her group here. "Follow me, we're going to the arena." Peter announced before heading off.

When they entered the arena, Annie had to contain a gasp. Everything was still how she had transformed it for her duel against Peter. She felt Akari tap her mind, asking for contact.

Annie let her in, wondering what she had to say. _He got sad when we came in the arena. Just thought I'd let you know. _Akari noted before severing the mental connection. Akari had a knack for recognizing people's emotions.

Peter turned to face the group. "So, who's the strongest one here? You all know each other, so you should be able to tell me." He asked. "Well, not who's the strongest, but who's the best fighter?" He elaborated.

Akari stepped back, grinning at the outcome she had predicted.

To Peter's surprise, Dante stepped back, pulling an unwilling Conan with him. Annie looked to both her sides, seeing that her friends had declared her the best fighter. She knew it was true, but she wasn't going to say that! She wasn't even sure how well she would do without her elemental powers.

"Okay, I guess that would be you Mitch." Peter said. "I'm going to spar you, just to see exactly what I'm dealing with." He pulled out his sword and waited.

Annie took in a deep breath. She normally never got nervous before fights, but this one was quickly freaking her out. _What if he recognizes my fighting style? I'll just have to hope he doesn't. _She took another deep breath, which helped ease her nerves, and then she unsheathed two swords and stepped forward simultaneously.

Peter moved his foot to balance better and gripped his sword.

Annie shifted into a stance, holding one sword above her head, angled downwards, and the other between her knee and waist-level, angled upwards. "Whenever you're ready, your majesty." She said softly, making sure he couldn't hear her voice shake.

He rushed at her with his sword extended. Annie met his sword with her top one and jabbed at him with her lower one. Peter tilted his sword so it was blocking both of Annie's. Sparks flew off of the metal as Annie turned her swords, gripping Peter's between them. She wrenched the blade out of his grasp and tossed it aside.

Before she could get her swords back in front of her however, Peter had pulled out a dagger from his boot and held it at her neck. The blade felt warm against her cold skin. _Dang it! I was too focused on not letting him recognize me, and he won! _She fumed. The old feeling of competition began to burn in her like a flame.

"Well, we have a lot of work to do." Peter said, sheathing his dagger and going to retrieve his sword.

Annie stalked back to her friends, growing more and more irritated that she lost.

Akari gave her a sympathetic glance, reaching into her mind. _It's okay, you focused on what's important. Now you know for next time. _She attempted to console.

_It's not alright!_ Annie mentally snapped. _I'm better than him! I should have been able to beat him, just like the last two times! _Her train of thought halted and shattered when pain from the memories hit her. She immediately severed the mental connection with Akari, not wanting to show weakness.

Dante looked at his sister with a confused expression, wondering how and why she had lost. Before he could press her any further, Akari placed her hand gently on his elbow, signaling that it wasn't a good time to ask.


	13. Discovered

**Okay, here's chapter 13, my lucky number. Seriously, I'm not kidding or being sarcastic, I'm just weird.**

Annie saw the disappointment in Peter's expression, and her sadness doubled. She wanted to scream out something like; It's me! Right here! Yeah, the girl dressed up like a guy!, but she knew she couldn't.

Normally, Annie's sadness would have taken over her, but she was still peeved about loosing to Peter. _How did that happen? I've beat him twice before, and the first time I didn't even use elements! How did I lose?!_

Akari stepped forward. "Hey, can I fight you?" She asked, crossing her arms. _Annie probably couldn't win because she couldn't use elements, but I can use whatever I want, magic included._

Peter surveyed Akari carefully. _Is it a fair fight? He's fourteen! Of course, he did prove himself worthy of being here, so if he insists. _"Are you sure?" He asked cautiously.

"Positive." Akari answered. She began to shift her weight to the side, but she stopped herself, remembering that was more of a feminine posture, and she wanted to play it safe. _Well, this should be easy enough. _She shifted into a martial arts stance, her hands held not in fists, but straight, more for precise jabbing than brute force.

_No weapon? Oh right, he's a spellcaster. Ace, Duff, and Demetri are the spellcasters. I've got to remember that. _Peter thought before unsheathing his sword. _The others really should be training while I fight her. At least Mitch, he seems anxious... _He pondered. _Or something like that. _He corrected, realizing he couldn't make heads or tails of whatever expression Annie had. "Mitch, why don't you go and train with Gwen." He suggested.

"Alright." Annie said, wanting to leave before she had the chance to go insane. She walked out of the arena at a brisk pace, searching the vibrations in the ground for Gwen's footsteps. _Ah, yet another benefit of controlling earth. Even though I don't know her footsteps that well, I'll manage. _

Eventually she found the right set of vibrations and followed them until she could see the golden-haired girl. Her group was meditating, and Annie had to suppress a chuckle. She saw Duff, who had never been good at meditating. He had issues sitting still for long periods of time, so meditation had always proved difficult for him. Demetri on the other hand, had no problem sitting still and relaxing.

She walked up to Gwen and tapped her lightly on the shoulder. Gwen turned around, meeting Annie's gaze with her penetrating golden-brown eyes. "Um, Peter told me to train with you." Annie said.

"Oh, okay." Gwen said somewhat hesitantly. _There's something weird about this guy... _She walked off, knowing where Peter wanted Gwen to train this guy.

Annie followed Gwen to a smaller arena than the last one, glad that Gwen looked forward the entire time. _Something about her gaze, it makes my thoughts scrabble, and I'm worried I'll blow my cover._

Gwen entered the smaller arena, and turned to face Annie sighing. "Alright, so let's start off by getting to know each other." She said in an odd tone. "I'm Gwen, and you are?"

Annie could tell something was off here, but she decided to play along, not sensing any danger, yet. "I'm Mitch." She answered slowly but calmly.

"Okay, so how do you like to fight, Mitch?" Gwen asked. Her tone was a bit too innocent thought, and Annie's suspicions only grew. _She's up to something...but what?_

_The way he carries himself, and how he seems so in tune with his surroundings, it's almost like he can sense things. Possibly using elements. Only one way to find out. _Gwen pondered.

As Annie fabricated her answer, which took longer than usual, since she had to leave out her talent for controlling elements, she sensed some of the air vapors change, condensing into water. _It's humid, but not that humid! _She thought rapidly. Then, the newly condensed water froze into ice, and she found that ice hurtling at her face as fast as an arrow.

When the ice was less than a foot away from Annie's face, she impulsively motioned with her hand, bending the ice into water and away from her, suspending it in the air next to her. The water was still in motion, spinning and swirling in an orb-like bubble. "What the crap?!" She exclaimed. Then she realized that her secret was out, or at least half of it. She shifted the water so the orb was in front of her, ready to attack or defend.

"Well, I knew you were hiding something from the start, and I started suspecting that you could control elements, like me." Gwen answered. "Apparently I was right."

"Yeah, and there's a name for people like us." Annie said, glad she could share the information with someone. She had saved it for someone who could actually use it. "We're Elementors. But what elements can you control?" She asked.

"I can only control water, but I make good use of it." Gwen answered.

Annie nodded, the weight of what had happened crashing down on her. Gwen seemed to notice her troubled expression, though Annie thought she was pretty composed, and walked over to her. "I won't rat you out, so don't worry." She promised.

Annie sighed lightly and nodded. _Should I tell her I'm a girl? She seems trustworthy, and I don't want to break that trust by her finding out later some other way. Might as well. _She pondered. "There's something else." She said carefully.

Gwen raised an eyebrow, signaling for Annie to continue. _Well, this ought to be good. _She thought, not knowing what else someone could have to hide on top of being an Elementor.

"I'm not named Mitch," Annie started, "My name is Annie, and I'm a girl."

**DUN DUH DAH! I felt like cutting off here, that way I could give you guys another chapter, because you've been waiting and reviewing. Please review, message, and check out my freaking poll already!**


	14. So Sorry

**Okay, now I feel bad, because when I left off at the that cliffhanger last time, I was planning to update quickly. So, I'm sorry. I hope you guys don't hate me.**

"Well, that-" Gwen cut off when a thought hit her. "It's you, isn't it? You're that girl that was here before me." She stated.

"So, I take it I'm not forgotten." Annie muttered.

"Hardly! Peter hasn't been the same since you left. Not like I'd know, I didn't know him before, but that's what everyone tells me." Gwen confirmed.

Annie's eyes widened. "Why? Why?!" She exclaimed, sadness and anger audible in her voice. "Why couldn't he just get over me!" She felt an odd sensation, which she recognized as tears forming in her eyes. She hadn't cried since her early days stuck with Jadis. Holding back the tears with all her might, she fell took a slow breath. "Why?" She whispered.

"I think it could have to do with the fact that he loves you." Gwen said, "But that's just a guess." She added sarcastically.

Annie couldn't help but grin at the other girl's sarcasm. "I'm not telling him though. Not yet anyways."

"Do what you want, I won't say a word." Gwen promised. "You head back to your group, and kick Peter's butt for me, will you?" And with that, the golden haired Elementor returned to her group of trainees.

Annie sighed. _Time to pull the facade back up. _She reminded herself on her way back to the arena. When she entered, Peter had everyone training. He had Akari doing some sort of strength exercise, Conan practicing archery, and Dante doing speed exercises. _No, he has it all wrong! He needs to have them train at what they're good at so they can improve what they have an aptitude for! Even Jadis knew that. _She thought. She walked up to Peter, having no clue what she'd say to him.

Peter turned around after Annie had been standing behind him for almost a minute. _How does he do that? Ace does it too. Annie used to... _He stopped his train of thought before he could think about Annie again. "Okay, you're back, good. What did Gwen practice with you?"

Annie hadn't even thought about him asking that. _Stupid, of course he'd ask that, that's why he sent you off. _She mentally smacked herself. "Oh, she gave me some tips and sent me back here." She answered casually, expecting him to make nothing of it. Well not nothing, but she didn't expect something big.

"Okay, why don't we try sparring again." Peter said in a friendly voice. He had a smile small on his face, like the idea of sparring made him happy. _Hopefully Gwen's tips helped him. He didn't seem focused last time, like he was concentrating on something else._

_Idiot! _Annie scolded herself. _Of course he'll test to see how I've improved. What was I thinking?! I need to anticipate his actions, because if I don't, something bad is bound to happen. _She knew that even though his last words sounded like a suggestion, they weren't. If she refused, he'd just tell her that it was an order, not a suggestion. _Okay, that's better. Think about his reactions to come up with your own. _"Okay." She said softly, sliding gracefully into a martial arts stance. "Whenever you're ready, your majesty."

Peter took in a deep breath, and for a second Annie could have sworn he was sighing. _Probably because I called him 'your majesty'. _She had to suppress her signature childish grin. She watched the High King pull out his sword, just as she had seen before, back in the old days. He was waiting for her to take out a weapon, but she gave him a small nod, signaling that he could carry on. Still a bit hesitant, Peter swung his sword at her, aiming for her shoulder.

The brunette Elementor slide about an inch to the left, causing Peter's blade to miss her by less than an inch. She heard Peter mutter something under his breath as he pulled his sword back, impressively staying balanced. She turned 180° and hit him with her forearm in his side.

Peter felt the warrior's arm make contact with his side, but he just chuckles softly. "You'll have to do better than that." He said heartily. _Sure it was a good hit, but I'm stronger than that. He needs a weapon. _He thought.

Annie took in a sharp breath when she heard him chuckle. Memories came flooding back, other times when he had laughed, with her, because of her, around her. _Dang it! Why do I have to remember all the painful things!? _Peter continued to swing his sword at her, and she would simply step aside and jab him gently, well gently for her level of power.

_He can't win this way, what is he thinking? _Peter wondered. _Maybe he's trying to tire me out. And then what? _He was about to swing his sword again, trying a new angle, when he froze, a jolt of pain shooting through his entire body. The pain was bouncing between a series of points, which Peter remembered were the places Mitch had jabbed him. _What the-? _His thoughts stopped as he fell to the ground, unable to move.

Annie then pulled out her sword and pointed it at his heart. "So, was _that_ any better?" She asked, trying to sound casual. She couldn't help but let a little pride in her voice. She sheathed her sword again, knowing they both knew that she had won.

Akari was watching from her strength training. She was making the weights lift themselves with magic. She gave Annie a small smile, her way of saying congrats. Normally she would have contacted Annie mentally, but she must feel uncomfortable being separated from Duff. Even if she didn't let anyone know.

Peter tried to move, but he still was immobilized. "How," He started, hoping he could still move his mouth and tongue. "How did you do that?"

Annie knelt beside him and began tapping the points she had hit in their duel. "It was easy, I just hit your pressure points. The combination I hit them in and the pressure I hit them with caused the pressure to kick in later." She answered. "And as for dodging your attacks, less is more. I moved less while you overexerted yourself."

Peter stared at the warrior in awe. In that same day, Mitch hadn't even come close to beating him. Now, he had annihilated Peter in a way that the king didn't even recognize. Not at first anyways. "Wait, where did you learn that technique?" He asked, remembering how Annie had known the same technique.

"I don't remember." Annie lied feebly. She knew exactly what he was thinking. "I can teach you if you'd like." She offered, hoping to cover up her dishonesty.

Without thinking it over much, Peter agreed. "Alright, how about in about an hour?"

Annie tapped the King's last pressure point and stood up again, signaling that he should be able to do the same. "Works for me." She said, determined to stay composed. _Me, alone with Peter. Great, just wonderful! _She thought sarcastically.

The next hour went by fast, much to Annie's dismay. Soon Peter was sending the warriors back to their tents. All of the warriors except Annie however. _Lying has its consequences... _Dante's words echoed in her mind.

Peter walked over to Annie. It felt weird, being in the same arena with Peter, again. Of course, Peter wouldn't have that feeling, just Annie. Letting out a small sigh, she looked up from the ground. His blue eyes seemed immensely curious and happy. _He seemed so sad when we first got here, and Gwen said that he had been depressed. So why is he practically glowing now? _Annie wondered. She opened her mouth to say something, but before any words could come out, a chill ran through the air, making Peter and Annie shiver.

Now if something makes Annie shiver, it must be really cold. _No, not her. Please not her. Not here, not now. What did Peter do? _She hoped desperately.

Peter looked around, his hand on the hilt of his sword. Before he could even unsheathe his sword however, The White Witch appeared before them. Her eyes immediately fell upon Annie. "So, you thought that you and your little friends could escape me?" She challenged icily, clearly angry. "Well, you were dead wrong. Maybe I should demonstrate just how wrong that is." She pointed her ice staff at Peter's heart, causing frost to form where it was pointing.

Peter looked back and forth between Mitch and Jadis. "Mitch, what's going on?" He demanded, hiding his fear expertly.

"Mitch? Who's Mitch?" Jadis asked. Then it clicked for her. She noticed how Annie's hair was shorter. "Well well well, it seems that you tried to go undercover. Well, you're no spy of mine, and how dare you use my son's name, especially since you're the one who got him killed!" She accused.

Looking over at Peter, Annie saw that he still hadn't figured things out. Unfortunately, Jadis noticed this too. "Oh, you don't recognize your little friend?" She asked with sick sweetness. She waved her wand towards Annie. "Maybe you will now!" She spat.

At the moment, Annie knew it was over. Whatever Jadis had done, it was something bad enough to keep them occupied for awhile, because the witch had left. She felt...cleaner. It took her a bit, but she realized that it was her skin. She had put dirt on it to make it look darker, like Dante's. She had always been paler, and she had suspected Peter would recognize that. As she looked down at her hands to confirm her guess. She saw some of her soft brunette hair fall in front of her shoulders. _Oh, great. _She thought sarcastically. _The main part of my disguise is gone. Now I'm screwed._

When she looked up, Peter was staring at her with wide eyes. "Annie......?" He whispered, as if he didn't dare to even ask. He took a step forward and brushed her hand with his unintentionally. "I-it's really you." He confirmed, probably by her cold skin, his voice still faint.

"I'm sorry." Annie muttered pathetically, looking away from him. She couldn't bare to even look him in the eye. "I'm so sorry."

**Ha ha! Cliffhanger! Have fun with that. I know a lot of you wanted Peter to find out, and I just wasn't sure. But the words came to me, and they seemed half decent, so he now knows. I want his reaction to be perfect though, so it will be in the next chapter. Thanks guys, and please, review and check out my poll. I want to do something special with the winner of my poll.**


	15. I Don't Like This Guy

**Okay, sorry for the time gap, I've just been so busy, and I've had a bit of writer's block. But, without further delay, here is the fifteenth chapter of All Is Fair In Love & War! I had no clue it would get this far. By the way, I don't know how long this story will be because I'm just making this up as I go along. I do want to have a sequel, but I'm not sure if I'll post it as a different story. It depends how long this one is. Nonetheless, enjoy!**

Annie felt tears coming to her eyes as she looked at the ground. _Don't cry you wimp._ She told herself pathetically. _You don't want him to see you like that. Come on, get it together. _

Peter still couldn't believe what he was seeing. _Who_ he was seeing. "So you're not dead." He murmured, seeming disbelieving and fascinated.

This made Annie look up at him. "Why, do you want me to be dead?" She asked, mostly joking. Deep down though she wondered what his answer was.

Not able to tell if she was joking or not, Peter felt a familiar confusion come back to him. "No, of course not!" He assured. Pulling her into a hug, he realized how much her comment bothered him. "No, I'd never want you dead, ever." He whispered intensely.

A faint smile touched Annie's lips. _Why would he think I was- _She began to wonder, but then it hit her. _He doesn't know that he broke the curse!_ "Peter." She whispered. "The curse is gone, you broke it."

Peter let go and took a step back. "What?" He asked, caught off guard by that fact. "How?" _What did __**I**__ do?_

"Well, the requirements I couldn't tell you about," Annie began, but paused to make sure she was explaining it right. "I had to fall in love, and the other person had to return my feelings. We both had to be aware of each other's feelings too." She saw Peter's shocked expression and felt a bit awkward. "Yeah, a pain in the butt, isn't it?" She added jokingly, putting one hand on the back of her head.

Peter was silent for a moment, and Annie wondered what he was thinking. She was about to ask when he spoke again. "So let me get this straight," He started. "If it weren't for me, you wouldn't have broken the curse in time, and you would have died." He flinched a bit as he said the last word.

"Yeah, that's right." Annie answered slowly, not sure where he was going with this.

"So that means," He paused briefly, his expression turned childish and he was even grinning. "That you owe me big time!" He finished triumphantly.

Annie's mouth dropped open in a small 'o'. "You are unbelievable!" She exclaimed, running towards him. She kept trying to hit him on the head, but he kept running away. "Come back here! You deserve to be hit!" She yelled, laughing the whole time.

Peter couldn't stop laughing. He stopped running and turned around so he was facing Annie. She stopped abruptly so she wouldn't knock him over, but she still bumped into him. Peter looked into the 18 year old girl's eyes. They were green, but an uncommon pale hue, unlike any he'd ever seen before. "Seriously though, I'm really happy you're back." He said emotionally. _I don't want her to think I don't care that she's back. _

"No, really? I think you'd be horrified that the person you love has returned." Annie said sarcastically. She was still in 'childish mode', as she was most of the time.

Peter rolled his eyes. "Annie." He stopped though, enjoying how he could say her name without a pang of pain in his heart. "I love you-"

"Obviously" Annie interrupted with a goofy grin.

Peter didn't even give her an irritated look. "And I always will, no matter what."

All of a sudden, Annie felt fear rush through her. "Why are you saying this?" She asked in a whisper.

"Because I mean it!" Peter answered, concern filling his expression. "Why else?"

Annie shook her head. "Just the way you said it, it made it seem like you were going somewhere." _I don't want him to leave...we just met up again. _She thought weakly, looking at the ground.

Peter lifted her chin up with one of his hands. "I'm not going anywhere," He promised. "And neither are you."

Annie grinned slightly. "You have no control over that last part what-so-ever." She pronounced the last words distinctly and confidently. But when she looked into his eyes, she saw that he was completely serious. This made her grin fade and her mouth turned into a slight frown.

"I'm not kidding." Peter said seriously. "If I have any say in it, you won't be going anywhere far away from Cair Paravel. I don't want to lose you again."

"Peter, that's unreasonable and controlling." Annie muttered. She moved a bit closer to him, and their faces were only inches away from each other.

"I don't really care, Annie. I refuse to lose you again. I'll do whatever it takes to keep that from happening." Peter countered, determined to win this argument. _Why can't she understand this?_

_Why can't he understand that I need my freedom? Even if I don't plan on going anywhere, I need to know that I could if I wanted to. He has no right to keep me trapped. Not that I want to leave him again, but still. _Annie thought. She was about to continue arguing, but she felt footsteps approaching. Taking a step back from Peter, she muttered; "Someone's coming."

Nodding, Peter took a step back and pulled out his sword. He saw Annie cock her head to the side, her silent way of asking a question. He figured she was wondering why he had his sword out. He shrugged in response. _Better safe than sorry. _

Dante entered the arena to see Annie, her girl-appearance back, and Peter with his sword out. "What's going on?" He demanded. _He must have found her out and now she's being punished._ He reached for his own sword just in case.

"Well, I just discovered that Mitch is-" Peter began to explain.

"Oh, I know that much," Dante said, glaring slightly. "But what I'd like to know is why you have your sword drawn. If you intend to hurt Annie you'll have to get through me, and the rest of our group."

Peter hadn't even thought of that. _It must look a bit weird.... _He realized.

Annie swiftly and silently walked over to her brother. "Dante, don't worry, nothing bad is happening." She promised. "Jadis showed up and took away my disguise with magic and now Peter knows who I am."

"Isn't he mad that a girl sneaked into his army?" Dante asked, not knowing about what had happened the first time Annie had been to Cair Paravel.

"Uh, no." Annie said awkwardly. "We have a lot to talk about, but I have to tell the others too. So you can wait until a bit later?"

Dante thought about it for a moment, still glaring at Peter. "Fine, where and when?"

"You guys are welcome to the castle." Peter offered, feeling extremely awkward.

Annie nodded her thanks. "Cair Paravel as soon as the sun sets. Don't worry, I won't be hard to find." She decided quickly.

Dante nodded slowly. "Alright, see you then." And with that, he vanished.

_How did he do that? _Peter wondered. He hid his astonishment however, because he didn't like this guy. _What's the connection between him and Annie?_

**A bit of a cliffhanger. I cut it a bit short because you guys deserve an update. The older brother meets the boyfriend, how interesting. Too bad Peter doesn't know that Dante is Annie's brother. This ought to be interesting.....**


	16. Explaining

**Okay, I know I probably say this a lot, but sorry for the time gap. I had both of my concerts this week, two huge tests and craploads of other stuff. Though it's the weekend and there are only two more days until Christmas break, so I figured I should start chapter 16. So, here it is!**

Before Peter could ask about Dante, Annie threw her arms around him. "I missed you so much." She whispered. The way her voice sounded, Peter could hear a weakness in it that he had never heard before.

"I-I missed you too." Peter stuttered. So much was happening so fast. _All that matters is that Annie's back and she's here._ Peter hoped that Annie wouldn't take his stuttering the wrong way. He was just surprised by everything.

Annie looked up at Peter, grinning and beaming like a young child. "Come on, let's go to the castle." She said. She started walking out of the arena, pulling Peter along by his hand.

As they walked to the castle, Peter took in every detail of Annie. Every mannerism, every motion, everything. He felt comfort as he recognized some of her old traits. He also noticed some new things. For one thing, she was taller, his height now. She also seemed to have a different outlook on things. Though there was the most noticeable change of all. She was happier, much much happier. _Is it because of that Dante guy? _Peter couldn't help but wonder. Annie was practically skipping and her grin never left her face. This had to be the happiest Peter had ever seen her. _Does she still love me?_

As Annie was skipping along, feeling as happy as she had been in ages, she noticed that Peter was lagging a bit. She pivoted so she was facing him again and stood still. "Peter, what's wrong?" She asked in a concerned tone. _Something isn't right. He seems....sad. Maybe he isn't happy that I'm back...._ She thought.

Peter was surprised that she had noticed in her little happy high. _Right, Annie notices everything, especially emotions. She's always been good at reading people. _He reminded himself. "It's nothing." He assured her. He came up to her and continued walking.

Annie kept walking, making sure she was always standing next to Peter, keeping the same pace as him. Her brow was furrowed in frustration though. As you have probably noticed by now, Annie is an extremely curious person, so not knowing what was bothering Peter was pretty much driving her insane. Nonetheless, they made it to the castle, and there in the main entrance room Dante, Akari, Duff, Conan and Demetri were waiting for them.

As soon as the group saw Annie, Akari and Duff ran up to her and hugged her tightly. "We thought they were going to kill you!" Duff exclaimed.

Akari rolled her eyes. "Maybe _you_ did." She muttered. Demetri walked up a bit more slowly and waited behind the twins. He gave Annie a look with one eyebrow raised. Dante was still hanging back. And if looks could kill, Peter would be dead a million times over. Conan stayed next to Demetri, looking a bit confused.

Annie chuckled at the twins. She could feel Demetri's look practically burning into her. She looked up and met his gaze. She gave him a weak smile, not sure how else to answer.

"So Annie, care to fill us in on what the heck is going on?" Dante asked a bit icily from where he was standing.

And at that, Annie explained the whole story of her stay at Cair Paravel, the battle, and breaking the curse. By the end, Akari and Duff seemed to be glowing in admiration and excitement, Demetri still looked a bit curious and thoughtful. Dante however was still glaring daggers at Peter. Conan just looked excited. Probably the fact that he was in Cair Paravel just sinking in.

"So why did you come back in disguise?" Peter asked. He had wanted to ask this question for awhile now, there just hadn't been a good chance.

"Well, I wasn't sure if you'd want me to come back, and if you didn't I wouldn't be able to take it, so I decided to come back as someone else." Annie explained. "Plus we wanted to enroll in the army, and I knew that if you didn't want me back you definitely wouldn't let me in your army. So I came as a guy. If I would have come as a girl, you would have to been too sexist to let me in."

"That's why I came undercover too." Akari piped in. "I'm actually a girl, named Akari." She held out her hand to Peter. "Nice to meet you."

Peter shook her hand slowly, feeling a bit confused. There was so much at once, so fast too. "So are you Annie's sister or something?" He asked.

Akari chuckled. "I wish, she's a lot less annoying than my brother."

"Hey!" Duff exclaimed.

"No, we're just her friends." Akari explained.

Annie turned to face Peter again. "Akari and Duff are twins, Conan and Demetri had been traveling together before Jadis caught them, and Dante was alone when he got captured."

Conan walked up and looked at Peter. "So you're really the High King of Narnia?"

Peter chuckled lightly. "Yeah, I am. Nice to meet you." He shook Conan's hand. "So what's your name?"

"I'm Conan." He answered.

"And I'm Duff." Duff greeted. "If you get Akari and me mixed up that okay, we're used to it."

"Good, because he probably will." Annie said.

"Well, it's good to know you have confidence in me." Peter said jokingly to Annie. Peter watched Annie chuckle at his joke. She was still smiling at him as if he was the sun itself. _Could I actually be making her this happy? Is that even possible? _He wondered.

Ed strode into the room to see the crowd. "Okay, what the heck is going on anyways?" He demanded. Then he saw Annie. "Welcome back Annie, nice to see you again." He greeted.

After the story was explained to Ed, he took a moment to let it all sink in. "So even though Annie was Mitch and Akari was Ace," He began his question. "The rest of you are guys, right?"

Demetri laughed a bit. "Yeah, sorry for the confusion."

"No, it's no problem." Ed said. "I mean, anything to make Peter stop being so emo and sulky 24/7." He added with a grin.

Peter glared at his brother. "Watch it..." He started, taking a step towards the younger Narnian king. Ed started to move away, but Annie grabbed Peter's wrist before he could do anything.

"Hey Ed, why don't you go and introduce everyone to Gwen." Annie suggested a hint of nervousness in her tone.

"Sure, come on guys!" Ed called before jogging off. Conan darted after Ed, pulling Demetri along. Akari and Duff ran excitedly along.

Dante, however, didn't budge. He kept his gaze locked on Peter, still glaring.

Annie gazed at her brother nervously. "Dante?" She said, waving her hand in front of his face. "Let's not glare at my friends, 'kay?" She pleaded nervously. _He hates Peter. He's barely talked to him and he hates him. Who does he think he is, our Father? _She thought.

"I'd like to get to know Peter a bit." Dante requested. "If that's alright, your majesty." He added politely. _Punk's more like it. _Dante thought.

"Of course!" Peter answered, trying to seem friendly and not nervous. "Can I have a moment with Annie first?"

"I don't see why that's necessary." Dante contradicted.

Annie could practically feel the tension crackling between the two boys like static in the air. "Okay then, why don't we just sit down." She suggested quickly, gesturing to a nearby table.

The three of them sat down at the table. "So...um, what do you want to know?" Peter asked awkwardly.

Annie mentally smacked herself. _This is not going to go well. _She concluded. But before their little 'meeting' could get any worse, a horn sounded. Annie and Peter stood up at the same time.

"The alarm!" They said simultaneously.

**Okay, so it's been forever since I've updated. I'm really sorry, I just keep getting sick and I've had project after project. I can't believe I started this before Christmas break though XD. Hopefully the next update will come soon. Please review, because I don't get many reviews and I really want to know what you guys think. Ideas are welcome because I get writer's block a lot.**


	17. Sickness & Song

**Okay, I am in serious need to ideas. If you guys want this fanfic to continue (or have more frequent updates) please _please __please_ message me with ideas! I need help. **

Annie and Peter ran out of the room when they heard the alarm. A very confused Dante followed them a couple paces behind.

_Well, at least this means that I can talk to Peter before Dante does. _Annie thought. _Hopefully. _She followed Peter into the throne room where Susan and Lucy appeared to be waiting for them. Well, waiting for Peter at least.

"Who's attacking us?" Peter asked. _Jadis was just here. Why would she wait to attack and come back so soon?_ He wondered.

"No one." Susan snapped. "Honestly, must you always assume we're under attack?" She rolled her eyes and muttered, "Boys."

"So what's going on then?" Annie asked.

Susan gave Annie the same look she had always given Annie. Was it frustration, anger, confusion or disgust? Who knows. But Annie had grown used to it and turned to Lucy for an answer.

"Ed's sick! And not just Ed, Tumnus and many other Narnians!" The youngest Queen answered. She sounded really worried.

Peter and Susan locked gazes for a moment and Peter nodded. "I'll go and take a look." He decided aloud.

"I already asked Gwen to try and figure out how to heal the sickness." Susan informed him. "I'll come with you and see if she's come up with anything." Susan turned and left, heading for the medical area.

Peter turned to Annie and put his hands on her shoulders. "I'll meet up with you later." He promised. "Just do me a favor and stay in the castle, just for today, okay?"

"Fine." Annie answered. She wanted to talk to him too. And besides, where would she go?

Peter nodded and smiled reassuringly before following his sister to the medical area.

Now Lucy, Annie and Dante were left in the room.

"I'm going to find the other's and make sure they haven't gotten into any trouble." Dante said giving his sister a firm look. "We'll talk later." He added before leaving.

Annie knew that when her brother said "We" he meant Peter too.

Chuckling made Annie turn back to Lucy. "What's so funny?" She asked. Normally she would have laughed along, but the whole Peter Dante thing had her a bit freaked out.

"So who's that guy?" Lucy asked, smiling, through her giggles.

"Uh, my older brother."

"Oh!" Lucy said, her eyes widening. "I thought that he was your new suitor!"

Annie nearly choked on her own tongue. "M-my new suitor!" She stammered. "I don't even have an _old _suitor." _Wow, that sounded weird. _She realized. "What I meant was that I've never had a suitor, so how could I get a new one? Besides, I'm in love with Peter."

"Well that's a relief to here." Lucy said. "Because Peter's crazy about you. He missed you the entire time you were gone. When he thought that you were dead he became so depressed."

_Oh, that's great. So for about a year I haunted him and ruined his life. Joy. _Annie thought sarcastically.

"But now that you're back Peter seems like a whole new person!" Lucy finished gleefully. "Come on, let's go and have some fun!" Lucy grabbed Annie's wrist and ran off, pulling her friend along.

"Lucy, where are we going?" Annie chuckled as she followed the youngest queen.

"You'll see!" Lucy promised. Did that girl ever stop smiling?

The two girls had entered another room when Lucy finally let go of Annie's wrist. Annie couldn't believe her eyes. In the center of the room there was a shiny grand piano. Annie's fingers tingled as she imagined playing a song on it's beautiful keys. An entire wall was covered with string instruments, violins, violas, there was even a cello! And they were all the most beautiful fiddles Annie had ever seen. Another wall was covered with woodwinds. There were saxophones of every kind; tenor, alto, you name it! There were clarinets and oboes too. On the wall next to that one there were brass instruments. Trumpets, French horns and so many more that Annie couldn't even name. The fourth wall was just as amazing as the rest of the room even though it didn't have any instruments on it. It had many square shelves that held sheet music. Most of it had music on it already but there was one shelf with blank sheet music, quills and ink in it.

"So, what do you think?" Lucy asked, grinning from ear to ear.

"This is amazing." Annie breathed. She couldn't believe what she was seeing. "But was this here the last time I stayed here?"

"Well the room was, but it was just another empty chamber." Lucy answered. "When Peter found out that you loved music so much he decided to make a music room for you. It was finished a few days after Jadis captured you."

"This room is for me!?"

"Of course, who else would it be for?" Lucy asked as if she couldn't see another possibility.

"Well I didn't expect you guys to set up this entire room just for me!" Annie exclaimed.

"Why not?"

"Um," Annie didn't really have an answer to that. Most people would have something like 'It's impractical.' but Annie wasn't one to care about practicality. "Thank you so much!"

"I'm just glad you like it." Lucy said happily. "Oh! Will you play something for me?"

"I don't know, I'm not really that good." Annie said, looking at the floor.

"Come on! Something on the piano! Please?" Lucy begged with puppy dog eyes.

"Oh alright!" Annie gave in, chuckling. She sat down at the piano, trying to remember the last time she had played. It was before she had met Peter, so over a year ago. Well, there were those times Jadis had made her play on that strange ice piano when she was captured. But that didn't count.

After a few scales and arpeggios, Annie began to play one of her favorite songs; Für Elise.

**Okay, so there's an update and I have an idea, sort of. If anyone gives me an idea that I use (and that goes for any of my stories) I will give you credit in the chapter. Please take a look at my profile so you can see my announcement. Thankies if you're still reading this!**


	18. She's My Sister

**Okay, I'm still not sure what ideas I'm going to use (but when am I ever sure of anything) but I'd like to give credit to a few people who gave me very useful and inspiring reviews; Edwardgirl11, TanyaGill, Kirsten Erin, & Homely. Thanks guys for reviewing (and all the other users who reviewed) and sorry that's I've been pretty much nonexistent 'update-wise' for ages, school is such a pain. By the way, check out my profile if you get a chance. Thanks for reading!**

After Annie finished her song, Lucy started clapping, which made Annie feel a bit embarrassed, but happy too. "Thank you so much! I haven't had a chance to just play instruments in so long."

"Well if you're going to be living here I'm sure that you'd want that opportunity." Lucy said.

The thought kind of surprised Annie. Sure she had lived here for awhile before she was captured, but she never thought of it was living in the castle. It sounded dumb, but she had just never put all the pieces together. _I'm living in Cair Paravel, with the Kings and Queens. With Peter. _She thought, sort of stunned. Then another thought hit her. "Does Aslan ever come by here?"

Lucy smiled. "Yes, he does. He hasn't been here for about a week, so he should come some time soon. Have you met him before?"

Annie nodded. "Yeah, I have. He really is amazing." She paused, thinking. "Can my friends and my brother live here too?"

"Of course they can!" Lucy exclaimed, sounding surprised that Annie even had to ask. "Come on, let's go find them and let them know."

Peter couldn't believe that his brother was sick. Edmund had always been there, one thing in Peter's ever-changing world. Sure they had their fights, but the only time Ed hadn't been there was when he was with the White Witch. This was what Peter would call a low blow. The sad thing was, he didn't know who that blow had come from. His brother was sick; who could he blame for sickness? As Peter walked through the corridor, he almost ran into someone.

"Oh, I'm sorry!"

"It's alright." The reply was in a light, musical voice. Peter had to look down to see who had spoken. It was one of Annie's friends, Akari. She was the one who pretended to be a boy with Annie. Peter hadn't really noticed just how short the girl was until now. If it hadn't have been for the fact that she had spoken, Peter wouldn't have been sure if it was Akari or her twin, Duff. "I wanted to talk to you."

Peter's intelligent answer was something like this; "Uh, okay." Something about this girl really made him feel, well, stupid. She just had that kind of aura.

Akari pulled Peter into an empty chamber and faced him, giving him a very serious look. "Annie cares a lot about you." She started, locking her gaze with his.

"I-I know."

"I care a lot about Annie. You seem like a nice guy and I don't want to threaten you." Akari continued. "But I'm worried about my friend."

"You don't have to be worried; I wouldn't do anything to hurt her. I swear." Peter answered, confidence filling him.

"I'm sure you wouldn't, not on purpose anyways." Akari said, her expression softening a bit. "But her heart has already been broken once, and I don't think she could take it again."

"What do you mean?"

Akari shook her head. "That's a story that Annie needs to tell you, when she's ready. But this is my warning to you. If you break Annie's heart, you will regret it more than anything else. I want to be your friend, but if you hurt her, I will be forced to become your enemy."

"I understand."

Akari let out a breath of relief. "Good. I'm glad you survived that, because you'll be getting at least one more of these talks. I'm not the only one who feels protective over Annie." She turned to leave. "Oh, and one more thing; protect her, please. I know it's a big job, but you'll have help."

Peter didn't get a chance to ask the small girl anything else before she left. He sighed, leaning against the wall. "Great. At least she doesn't hate me like that one guy does."

"You're right, 'that one guy' does hate you." The voice came from the other side of the room. Peter straightened up with a start.

Dante stepped out of the shadows. "It's a shame too, because I probably wouldn't hate you if it weren't for your relationship with Annie."

Peter had had enough of this guy. "Okay, let's talk then." His voice shook slightly with anger. "Why do you hate me for loving Annie? Are you supposed to marry her or something? Does she like you too? Because I'd like to know what I'm doing wrong here!"

"Marry her? I'd never marry her." Dante said.

"Then why are you so possessive over her!?" Peter demanded, losing his temper.

"Because she's my sister."

**It's a short chapter, but I really want to end it with that line (stupid reason, I know). But because this chapter is so short, you'll get another one soon. Please review peeps, thankies!**


	19. Siblings

**Ello governors! Sorry, that's my new way of saying 'hi'. Anywho, here's another chapter. Hopefully the frequent updating will continue. Probably not everyday though (that was just because it was the weekend) but definitely more often than before. I'll try to crack out as many chapters as possible on weekends. **

"She's your what?" Peter asked, dumbfounded.

"My little sister." Dante answered. "She's the most important person in my life and I've seen her heart get broken once. I definitely don't want that to happen again to her."

"Listen, it's just like I told Akari; I'm not going to break Annie's heart. I love her." Peter said, just wishing that Dante would believe him.

"That's what the last guy said. I trusted the last guy; I would have trusted him with my life. He didn't mean to break Annie's heart; he was doing what was best. But that doesn't mean I want it to happen again." Dante argued.

"I swear, I'd rather die than break her heart!" Peter exclaimed.

Dante looked at the floor for a moment. _They never get it, do they? Don't they realize that dying __**would**__ break her heart?_ He thought sadly.

"Fine then. Prove it to me. Show me that you really care about my sister. Prove that you will never hurt her, that you'll always protect her. Prove that she's the most important person in your life." Dante said, still looking at the floor.

"You have yourself a deal." Peter said calmly, extending his hand.

This took Dante by surprise. He looked up, meeting Peter's gaze. "You don't know what you're promising."

"I don't care. If this is the only way for Annie and I to be together, then I'll do it." Peter answered firmly.

"Fine." Dante grasped Peter's hand and they shook on it.

Lucy had left to go to the Hospital Area to visit Edmund and Tumnus. Annie decided to just wander the corridors. As she walked along she began to realize just how much she had missed this castle. It had a magical feeling to it; it made Annie feel like she was home, which was a feeling that was very foreign to her.

Annie was so lost in thought that she didn't even notice Susan walk up behind her. "Annabella." Hearing her full name sent an involuntary shiver down Annie's spine. She turned with a start.

"Oh, Susan, I didn't see you coming."

"I wouldn't expect you to; you were facing the other way." Susan said in a stern tone. "Though I am surprised that you did not sense me coming, I was under the impression that you could do that."

"I can, but only when I'm paying attention." Annie put her hand on the back of her head sheepishly. "I kinda spaced out."

"Ah, I see." Susan said. Her expression remained as cold as ever.

Annie sighed. "Susan, ever since the first time I came here you haven't liked me or even trusted me." Susan didn't say anything, so Annie continued. "Why? What have I done wrong?" Annie had been wondering about this for a long time, but she had always pushed the problem away. Now it was resurfacing.

"Well for one thing, you don't know your place." Susan answered after a moment of thought. "You're a teenage girl who came from some other land and you just came to our castle. Narnians are welcoming, but you could have been a spy for the White Witch." Annie flinched at that part. "But you don't know your place in an even more important area. You are a girl. Girls go to dinners and balls, not duels and wars and training camps."

"And why does it matter to you, or anyone else, if I know my place or not?" Annie challenged.

"It matters to me because someone who doesn't acknowledge their place can be very dangerous to everyone else around them." Susan answered.

"So that's it then? You just don't like me because I'm different?" Annie asked in disbelief. _That can't be why, there just has to be more. _She thought.

Before Susan could answer, she heard Lucy calling her. Giving Annie another cold look, she turned to leave. "Of course that's not all." She muttered as she walked away.

Once Susan was gone, Annie put a hand on her forehead, enjoying how the cold coming from her hand felt. Sure her whole body ran cold, but her hands tended to be the coldest. "Great, so I still don't know why she hates me." She muttered.

After his conversation with Dante, Peter went looking for Annie. On his way down a corridor he passed Susan, who looked angry about something. "Su, what's wrong?" He asked.

"Nothing!" She snapped without stopping.

_Looks like someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning. _He thought. When he turned the corner he saw Annie, leaning against the wall.

"Hey, there you are!" He exclaimed.

"Peter!" Annie was smiling again now. She ran up to him and hugged him.

"Hey, I just ran into Susan and she looked mad about something. Did you see anything happen to her?" Peter asked.

Annie pulled out of the hug. She didn't want to tell him that eldest sister hated her, since he probably hadn't figured it out yet. "No, I didn't." She lied. "Was she injured?"

"Nah, she just looked mad about something." Peter answered, shaking his head. He had already decided not to tell Annie about his conversation with Dante or Akari. "So, do you want to train out in the arena?"

"Sure! Mind if I bring some of my friends?" Annie asked.

"Of course not. I'll meet you there, okay?"

"Okay, see ya." Annie skipped off to find her friends. _Alright, having Dante and Peter training together probably wouldn't be a good idea. You know, Peter doesn't seem to like Dante, which is kind of uncalled for, since Dante's my brother. I mean Peter ought to like the only family member I have. _She thought. Then it hit her. _I never told Peter that Dante's my brother! He probably thinks that he's my boyfriend or something, just like Lucy did! Crap, I'll have to tell Peter._

After Annie rounded up Akari and Demetri, she headed to the arena. Dufff and Conan had already been training with Dante, so she let them be. When she entered the arena, Peter was waiting for her in the stands.

"Hey, Peter!" She called. "Remind me that I have to tell you something later, 'kay?"

"Uh, sure." Peter answered, hopping out of the stands and into the arena. "Hey Demetri, hey Duff." Akari grinned at Peter's greeting. Peter smacked himself in the forehead. "Sorry Akari."

"It's alright. As I said before, we're used to it." Akari said. Now Peter could tell. The twin's voices were the only thing different about them.

"I'm just glad you got my name right, because you don't have an excuse not to." Demetri said with a smile.

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Peter agreed, chuckling. "So, should we have some duels?"

Annie was grinning from ear to ear. "Yeah. Who wants to fight who?"

"I'll fight you!" Akari declared, pointing at Annie.

"That works. Girl against girl, guy against guy." Peter said, getting a glare from Annie.

"And the winners from each duel fight each other." Annie added.

"Sounds good, let's go!" Demetri said before a fight could progress.

**Okay, I think that for now I'm going to stick to shorter chapters. It's just easier for me to update more often that way.**__


	20. A Peek Into The Past

4/19/09

Annie had never fought Akari before. She decided only a few minutes into the battle that she wouldn't do it again if she could avoid it. The most irksome part was the fact that Akari had learned a lot from watching Annie, so she had a similar fighting style. Neither was using weapons, which was interesting. Akari kept dodging Annie's attacks. As she slid to avoid a punch Annie threw at her, she felt the ground shift under her feet. She figured that it was just Annie trying to distract her, so she kept the fight going, throwing a punch at Annie.

A few moments later, Akari tried to pull her foot up to kick and found that she couldn't. She looked down to see her foot stuck in quicksand. Crap_, so it wasn't just a distraction… _She kicked with her other foot, which Annie caught in her hand. Annie pulled out a small dagger with her other hand and held it at Akari's throat.

"Looks like I win." Annie said with a grin.

"Good one." Akari agreed, smiling. "I felt the ground change under my feet, but I thought you were just shifting it to distract me."

"You were good too, it really threw me off that your fighting style was similar to mine." Annie said. The girls turned to watch the boys fight.

Peter and Demetri must have been watching Akari and Annie fight, because they had just started their duel. Peter had his sword out and was really getting into the fight. He wouldn't be able to keep up that pace for long though. Demetri was fighing with a sword too, though he wasn't actually holding his. He was controlling his with magic, so it was floating in the air and fighting on its own. This was a good way to tire Peter out, because Demetri wasn't breaking a sweat.

Demetri's magic sword continued to fight Peter. As Peter tired out, the sword drove him backwards, putting him on the defense. Without realizing it, Peter dropped his sword. _Dang it! _Peter thought, panicking. He dodged the sword at just the right moment. Hiding behind the huge tree in the center of the arena, Peter tried to think of a plan. _If only I could sink into this tree like Annie could. _He thought, almost laughing.

_WACK _

Peter ducked on instinct. The sword had tried to attack him and gotten itself stuck in the tree, right above his head. Not really sure what would happen, Peter pulled the sword out, holding it his hands firmly. What other options did he have?

As soon as the sword was in Peter's hands, it went flying at Demetri, pulling Peter along behind it. It was pulling Peter so hard that he wasn't even on the ground anymore. Peter closed his eyes.

The next thing he knew, he heard the sound of a sword stabbing somebody. He crashed into the ground and opened his eyes. Demetri was lying on the ground in front of him, the enchanted sword impaled in his chest.

Somebody screamed. It sounded like Annie.

Peter stood up quickly, in disbelief that Demetri could be dead. He turned to Akari, who was trying to comfort Annie. Annie had fallen to her knees and was covering her face, pulling away from Akari.

"Akari, go and find Lucy, quick! Tell her to bring her healing cordial!" Peter shouted. Akari ran off so fast she was just a blur of black and white.

Peter walked over to Annie, approaching her slowly. "Annie? Are you okay?" He struggled to keep his voice firm. _Is she crying? _He had only seen her cry once before, just before she told him about her curse.

He placed a hand on her shoulder, but she pulled away. "Annie, it's okay. Lucy's coming, he'll be fine."

"He won't be fine!" Annie screamed, not looking up. She started crying, her whole body shaking.

This was scaring Peter, but he stayed calm for Annie's sake. Despite her trying to pull away, Peter picked her up and started walking back to the castle. He passed Lucy on the way, who was running to the arena with her magical healing potion.

The first person Peter encountered in the castle was Dante. He had to admit, this must look bad. Annie had been crying and still was. She was so shaken that she couldn't speak straight. And on top of that, Peter was carrying her.

"Put my sister down, punk." Dante growled. "I don't care if you're the king, that doesn't mean you can treat people like trash."

"Calm down, it wasn't me." Peter said, keeping his temper in check. "We were training and her friend got stabbed. Lucy's healing him now. Annie screamed and fell to her knees. She's been crying ever since."

Dante's anger melted away instantly. "Who got stabbed?" His voice was barely audible.

"Demetri." Peter answered.

All the color drained from Dante's face. "Peter, I want you to take Annie somewhere safe. Sit her down and talk to her."

"Dante, I don't think she's in any condition to talk right now." Peter disagreed.

"I know, but you need to talk to her about this, now."

Peter paused for a moment. "Alright, fine." He decided to trust Dante. After all, the guy was Annie's brother.

Since he was still carrying her, it was pretty easy for Peter to take Annie away from the other inhabitants of the castle. Once they were alone in Annie's Music Room, Peter sat Annie, leaning against the wall and sat in front of her.

"Annie? What's going on?" He asked calmly, not sure what Annie was supposed to be telling him.

"H-he got stabbed. He's gonna die." She murmured, shaking. She had her legs pulled up into her and was gripping them tightly.

"Demetri will be fine. Lucy will heal him." Peter assured her.

"It'll be just like the last time. When M-" She cut off as her whole body shook for a moment.

Something clicked in Peter's mind. He remembered what Akari had told him: _"That's a story Annie needs to tell you, when she's ready." _

"Annie, tell me. What happened before you met me?" He asked gently.

Annie's eyes widened and at first Peter didn't recognize the expression on her face. Then it hit him; she was scared. He had never seen Annie genuinely afraid before. It was strange, because he was used to seeing Annie stubborn, strong, rebellious; a leader. He had never seen her scared before. "Before I met you and your family, before I met Akari, Duff, or any of the others, besides Dante of course, I had two best friends. Their names were Odette and Mitch."

_Mitch, that's the name Annie used when she pretended to be a guy. _Peter noted.

"Well, the three of us came from very different families. Odette was, or is, if she's still living, a princess. I'm an orphan with quite a family tree, living with my older brother." Annie continued. "Mitch probably had the worst family situation out of the three of us. His mother was the White Witch."

Peter tensed. "The White Witch has a child?"

Annie nodded solemnly. "Despite our differences, the three of us bonded quickly, soon becoming inseparable. Mitch left his home whenever he could, staying with Dante and me. Odette stayed with us a lot too."

"You guys were really close."

Annie nodded again, focusing really hard on harnessing her emotions. First of all, she didn't want to cry; she hated crying. Second, her elemental powers were based on and controlled by her emotions, so when she didn't control her emotions, bad things could happen. "Well, of course the Witch was disappointed in her son. All he did was turn away from her idea of how he should live and run around with a vampire and an elementor. One day, only a few years ago, she decided to do something about it."

Peter had a feeling about what was coming, but he kept his mouth shut.

"See, the Witch thought that Odette and I were the only things holding Mitch back from his 'true potential'. So she decided to get us 'problems' out of the way." Annie took a deep breath before continuing. "She tried to kill me first, knowing that elementor or not, I was still easier to kill than a vampire. She was about to kill me, but-" Annie's eyes were tearing up. _Crap, I promised myself that I wouldn't cry. _"Mitch didn't want me to die. He loved me. He got in the way and took the shot. The Witch was so mad that she left. She's still trying to kill me. I'm pretty sure that she killed Odette awhile ago."

"Wait, if he loved you, why didn't the curse break?" Peter asked.

"Because not all of the conditions of the curse were met. He loved me and yes, I loved him. The problem was that we didn't know that we loved each other. Not like that anyways. I didn't know that he loved me until after he was dead. He came back as a ghost, Aslan sent him a couple times, and he told me." Annie explained.

"So you got really close before, didn't you?" _If Mitch hadn't died saving Annie, I never would have met her. _The reality hit Peter kind of hard. He realized that he owed this guy almost as much as Annie did.

"Yeah, she did." The flat voice came from the doorway.


	21. A Vampire's Warning

"So you got really close before, didn't you?" Peter asked.

"Yeah, she did." The cold voice came from the doorway. It definitely wasn't anyone that Peter knew, so he moved protectively in front of Annie. Though as soon as she was behind Peter, Annie pushed past him to see who was at the door.

Peter looked to. It was a girl, but she wasn't like any girl he'd seen before. She was extremely pale, which created quite a contrast with her jet black hair. She had dark grey eyes, causing her entire face to look grim. It looked like she was wearing a lot of dark make up too.

"Odette?" Annie managed to whisper.

"No, really?" The girl answered sarcastically. Her voice pretty much defined monotone. "How many other people do you know who look like me?"

"Odette!" Annie exclaimed. Another tear ran down her face, but Annie was smiling now. She embraced Odette, which Peter didn't think anyone should ever do (the girl didn't look like much of a touchy-feely person). Odette didn't seem to mind though.

Odette pulled away from Annie's hug after a moment. "So, where the heck have you been the past few years? I heard that the Witch caught you." The girl's tone remained monotone. Then she looked over at Peter. She glared at him, though Peter could barely tell the difference between her glare and her normal expression. "Who's he?"

"Odette, this is Peter, the High King of Narnia." Annie answered. She remembered that she had been crying, and wiped her eyes on her sleeve.

The gothic girl raised an eyebrow at Peter before looking back at Annie. "You can't just pick normal people, can you?" She had known Annie long enough to understand what Peter was to her.

Annie chuckled. "I guess not." She paused, the happiness from her expression fading. "Why are you here?" She didn't mean it in a rude way, but the only reason Odette would have tried even harder to find Annie than she had tried before would be to warn her about something.

Odette grimaced, the closest she ever got to a true smile. "I was waiting for you to figure out that there was bad news." She said. "Jadis knows that some people in Narnia are getting sick,"

"So she's going to attack us while we're weak." Annie finished, staring off blankly.

"How soon?" Peter jumped into the conversation.

Odette looked at him and Peter felt like she was glaring at him, even though the girl's expression was literally apathetic. "Probably a month. She wants to wait until more Narnians are sick."

"But how do you know that?" Peter was starting to feel suspicious.

"Because my family, the royal family of the vampires, has formed an alliance with Jadis." Odette was clearly unhappy about this. She saw a clock on the wall. "Crap, I need to go home."

Annie tilted her head to the side. "Since when do your parents care if you're home or not?"

"Since they realized all of the crap I did as a kid. As soon as they formed an alliance with Jadis, the stupid witch told my parents everything about you, me and Mitch. Now they watch me like their lives depend on it." Odette said every word with disgust.

"Odette, is Mitch's br-"

Odetter cut Annie off, not wanting Peter to know what they were talking about. "He'll be revived in between ten and twenty years. Until then, there's nothing we can do."

"Right." Annie paused, looking at her vampire-friend. "Will you come back."

"Whenever I can." Odette flashed another grimace at Annie. "See you later, King-Boy." The vampire princess waved her hand and vanished in cloud of purple-black mist.

Peter got a chill when Odette called him King-Boy. "How did she know about that?"

"That's the funny thing, she didn't." Annie couldn't help but grin. "She has a way of doing things like that. Creepy coincidences are Odette's specialty."

"Great." Peter muttered sarcastically. "So we're going to be attacked in a month." The reality of that part was still sinking in.

"I'm as ready as ever. You picked the perfect time to set up that training camp. The rest of the army is going to be so much better. And you'll have me and my friends. I'm sure they'd love to help-"

Peter cut Annie off by grabbing her shoulders. "You're not fighting when Jadis attacks."

Annie's eyes widened. "Why not?" Her voice was defiant and strong.

"It's just like you said, The White Witch is still trying to kill you. I refuse to let you go out there when she's just going to target you." Peter kept his tone stern, like a parent laying down the rules for a child

"And what makes you think that you have a choice in the matter? It's my life; I'll put it on the line if I want to." Annie moved a bit closer to Peter as she argued.

"Annie, the part that you don't get is just because it's your life doesn't mean that other people don't care about it!" Peter couldn't believe that she was blind to this. "How to you think everyone else would feel if you go hurt, or worse, killed?" He had leaned in without thinking about it and their faces were now only an inch apart.

Annie glared at him. "And the same goes for you! How do you think your siblings would feel if you got hurt or killed? How do you think I would feel?"

Dante walked past the room where Peter and Annie were arguing. He had no clue what was going on, but he heard Annie sounding angry about something, and he saw Peter grabbing her shoulders. Plus they were barely an inch apart from each other. Dante literally had an 'anime tweak moment'.

He barged into the room, grabbed Peter by the back of his shirt and spun him around. "What the heck do you think you're doing to her, punk?"

Peter was caught totally off-guard. "I was telling her that she can't fight in the next battle." Peter explained about what Odette had told them.

Dante turned to Annie. "Odette's alive?"

Annie nodded. "Dante, I have to tell you something later, so remind me."

Dante nodded. "I'll see you later then." He flashed on more glare at Peter before leaving.

"I can't believe he thought I was hurting you." Peter's voice came out quietly. Then he remembered something. "Hey, you told me to remind you to tell me something, what is it?"

"Uhhh," Annie racked her brain, trying to remember. "Oh yeah! I never told you about Dante. He's my older brother."

"Yeah, Dante kind of told me that. It would have been nice to know though."

Annie chuckled. "Ah well, you know now." She grinned her 'I know that I screwed up but please don't be mad' grin. She used this expression after she played pranks, a lot.

"Come on; let's go get something to eat." Peter smiled gently. He held Annie's hand as they walked out of the room.

**Okay, so I have returned from being MIA. If you guys ever want to know my plans for updating, just check my profile. Sorry about the wait.**


	22. Let's Get This Party Started

**Well, I don't think I could come up with an apology that would cover my absence, so I'll go with an explanation; HIGH SCHOOL. Sorry guys, this is my first year of high school, and I'm still adjusting (it's also my first year of marching band, so that was taking up some time as well). So sorry about my extended and unannounced absence. I'll hopefully be able to update more frequently for awhile, and if I have to go away, hopefully I'll at least be able to warn you guys.**

**Now without further ado, here is chapter twenty-two.**

Annie knew that tonight's dinner would be an interesting one, to say the least. When she and Peter arrived, everyone else was already there. But there were so many empty seats. It seemed like more and more people were getting sick everyday. Annie could tell that the absence of Edmund was hard for his siblings.

Some good news was that Demetri was with them. His entire torso was bandaged up, but he was smiling and talking to his friends, so everything seemed to be okay.

Dante and Peter hadn't said anything particularly hateful to each other yet, so that was always a plus.

Once the food was out, everybody started eating and talking. Annie was still lost in her own thoughts......

"So, Annie,"

She snapped back to reality when she heard Duff say her name. "Yeah?"

"After dinner, we should all play a game." Duff had a mischievous glint in his eyes.

"What kind of game?" Annie couldn't help but wonder. Duff always had interesting ideas.

Duff leaned over and whispered the idea in Annie's ear, earning a glare from Conan, who had been eavesdropping.

When Duff was done, Annie looked at him, grinning. "That sounds like a great idea." She pulled out a pencil from her pocket and wrote on her napkin; Game tonight at midnight, sign if you're in.

After signing her own name, she passed it to Peter, who was sitting next to her. He gave her a confused expression before reading it. After he read it, he signed his name, smiling lightly, and passed the napkin on.

By the end of dinner, the napkin had gone around the entire table and made its way back to Annie. She slipped it into her pocket.

The rest of the evening went on without much event. When the clock struck midnight, Annie was waiting back in the dining hall.

It didn't take long for the people who had signed the napkin to arrive. It was a pretty good turnout; Annie, Peter, Dante, Akari, Duff, Conan, Demetri, Gwen, Lucy and even Susan had come.

"Alright, as all of you know, we're going to play a game tonight." Annie said, feeling more excited by the minute. She couldn't remember the last time she had just played a game with friends. "Duff thought that it would be fun to play capture the flag."

That seemed to make everyone pretty happy. Before the chatter could start, Annie continued. "We'll need two team captains. Since it was Duff's idea to play, I think that he should get to choose who they are."

Duff looked thoughtful for a moment, then he grinned mischievously. "I want Annie and Dante to be the captains."

Dante looked at his little sister, actually smiling for once. "You can pick first."

Annie slipped into a different mindset. She tried to figure out which people would make for a well-balanced team and how to acquire all of those people. _Having both of the twins would be a huge advantage, but I know that as soon as I choose one of them, Dante will snatch the other. Still, if I grab one now, at least he won't have a chance to take both._ After thinking for a moment, Annie said. "I'll take Akari."

"Susan, you're on my team." Dante said without missing a beat, earning him questioning look from Annie.

_He must have something up his sleeve, otherwise he would never let me take both of the twins. Maybe it's a trap....._ Annie wondered. _Oh well._ "Duff, you're with me too."

Susan whispered something to Dante. He frowned lightly, but nodded anyways. "Peter, get over here."

Peter looked beyond surprised. Sure he knew that Susan had probably asked Dante to put him on his team, but he hadn't expected Dante to agree.

_Well, that was unexpected._ Annie thought. "Um, alright, Demetri."

Demetri walked over to join the rest of Annie's team.

"Lucy, I want you on my team." Dante said. His voice was different when he talked to Lucy....it was seemed warmer, kinder maybe.

Lucy skipped over to Dante's team, obviously happy to be with her siblings.

"I'll take Gwen then." _So we both have healers. That should make the game more interesting._

"Good, then I get Conan." Dante said, finishing the team picking.

"Alright then, Peter, where do you think we should put the territories?" Annie asked.

"Well, the forest right next to the castle is a good-sized area. Each team could have half of the forest." Peter suggested.

"That sounds good to me." Annie paused, making sure she hadn't forgotten anything. "Oh right, rules. I guess we need those. Honestly, I don't think we should make a huge list of rules: it just limits the game more than necessary. So let's stick to the basics. You're safe in your own territory. To get someone into your jail, you much capture them on your territory. You can have people guarding your jail. What else....Oh yeah, combat is allowed, so grab any weapons, armor or other equipment you may want before we head out. Event hough combat is allowed, don't kill anyone, please. Gwen and I can heal, and Lucy has her cordial, so if someone is seriously injured, we'll stop the game to heal them." She paused again, racking her brain. "One last thing: when you hide your flag, it must be at least partially visible."

Dante nodded before turning to his team. "My team, where do we want to meet?"

"There's a cave in a clearing in the southern half of the forest. That could be our jail." Peter suggested, praying to Aslan that Peter wouldn't bite his head off.

"That sounds good. Everyone go get whatever you need to get and meet me there in about ten minutes." After saying that, Dante disappeared, leaving his team, except for Conan, who was used to this ability, awestruck.

"My team," Annie said. "Our jail is going to be in a clearing in the northern half of the forest. You'll know which clearing it is because it has a pond and a huge weeping willow tree in it. Meet me there once you have all of your equipment."

A little while later, Annie and her team were ready. They had hidden their flag and were going over their plan one more time before telling the other team they were ready.

"Alright, so Gwen is going to be guarding the jail. If anyone gets hurt and needs to be healed, just come back here and ask Gwen to help you." Annie explained. "Akari and Duff will be defending our territory. It's their job to make sure that anyone who gets in, gets in jail. And remember, if you capture somebody, only one of you should escort them to jail, that way we still have one of you defending the borders. Demteri and I will go into enemy territory and get their flag."

"Let's get this party started." Akari said with a grin.

Annie nodded before firing up the flare that would show her brother's team that they were ready.

Dante saw his sister's flare shoot into the sky. "So, everyone knows their job, right?" When he didn't get the greatest answer to that, he decided to go over the positions again. "Lucy will be near this clearing, pretending to guard the flag. Hopefully this will throw them off. If anyone gets hurt, find Lucy so she can heal you. Susan and Conan will be defending our borders, but separated. Susan, you need to stay hidden so you can snipe off any invaders with your bow. But please, no fatal shots. Conan, you're a good guard. Use your size to your advantage and attack when they least expect it. Peter and I will go into enemy territory and get the flag. Any questions? Good." _I didn't mean to pair myself up with Peter, it just worked out that way._ Dante thought. He sent up the flare in response to his sister's, officially starting the game.

Both teams scattered, going to their positions.

**Yeah, it's a short chapter, but at least I updated. There's another chapter coming shortly, because I have some ideas that I'm really excited to write. If for some reason my load of schoolwork gets freakishly large (or any other reason for a severe delay comes up) I'll post a message in my profile. PS: Reviews would kind of rock. I really like getting ideas and suggestions from you guys, and I love hearing your opinions, so yeah.**

**PSS: I'd like to give a little 'shout-out' or whatever to Edwardgirl11. She gives me the nicest reviews and gives me great feedback and encouragment, so I just wanted to thank her.**


	23. A Human's Mistake

**Well, it has definitely been awhile. I'm sorry about that guys, but I'm in highschool; I don't always have time to update and write. It saddens me, but it's true. But hey, it's summer! I'm actually home today (and will be for awhile) because I just got my wisdom teeth out. That's why I posted on my profile page (which you should check out) the new stories that are soon to come. So add me to your author alerts if you're interested in any of those, and I hope you guys enjoy this chapter of All Is Fair In Love & War. It's a decent size, which surprised me!**

Annie and Demetri made their way swiftly and stealthily across their territory. Demetri was using a spell to make the air push him forwards as he ran, giving him some extra speed. Annie was controlling the air with her abilities, but the result was the same as Demetri's.

Once they got to the border, they didn't stop moving, but they stopped their magic. At this point they had to go slower and be very careful so they wouldn't get caught.

So that's how they went. Ducking behind trees and bushes, alert to the tiniest sound, the two warriors traveled through the forest, wondering where the flag might be.

"This is pointless." Annie muttered. "The territory is too large to just search for the flag; we need a clue to go on."

Before Demetri could respond, they heard someone coming down the trail. Obviously they had been smart enough to stay off the trail in enemy territory, but it made sense that the enemy would feel comfortable out in the open on their own turf.

Not knowing where to hide, Annie pulled Demetri into a tree (literally) with her, knowing there was no way they'd be seen there.

And just in time too; Dante and Peter were walking by, talking about where the flag might be.

"Now here's the tricky part," Annie muttered. That's one of the benefits about hiding in a tree; no one will hear you talking if you become one with layers and layers of bark. "We can't attack them on their own territory, it's no good."

"No, but we can send a warning back to Akari and Duff, via mental link." Demetri said, doing just that.

Annie was listening, waiting until it was safe to emerge. "I think we're good." She then pulled herself and Demetri out of the tree.

Dante and Peter walked along, making their way to enemy territory. They hadn't said anything the whole time, and Peter was feeling more and more awkward by the second. He was just about to say something, anything to kill the increasingly awkward silence, when Dante froze and stiffened.

"What?" Peter kept his voice low, not wanting Dante to get on his case about him giving them away or anything like that.

"It's Conan, I think something's wrong with him."

Dante ran back into the heart of his territory, as if he knew exactly where Conan was. Peter followed, not wanting to do anything else without orders from Dante. He had to stay on this guy's good side. Scratch that; he had to _get_ on his good side.

As soon as the boys were gone, Annie pulled Demetri out of the tree.

"Do you want to follow them?" She asked. She knew that Demetri and Conan were extremely close.

Before he could respond, three figures emerged from the shadows with lightning speed. Two jumped at Annie and one at Demetri.

_Crap, they must know who I am, otherwise two would have gone for Demetri; he's a guy._ Annie thought as she spun out of the way of the first one and kneed him in the stomach, sending him to the ground.

The other took her fallen comrade's place by attacking Annie, lunging straight for her neck. _Crap, a vampire._ Annie blocked with her arm, using her forearm to hit the vampire in the neck with enough force to break it. If she had been human anyways.

The vampire hissed as she sauntered back over. "Tell me, little Elementor, what does your blood taste like? Is it hot, like fire? Or cool, like the water of a stream? Or maybe it's pure, like the light you have such little control over. Or does it taste of the one who shed his blood to save your life?"

Tears were at the brims of Annie's eyes. She pulled out one of her swords and charged the vampire.

"Annie, stop!" Demetri had just paralyzed his opponent with a very powerful spell. "You won't be able to kill her; she's immortal!"

"I don't care!" She screamed her response without even stopping her charge. Annie was gone, emotionally anyways. She couldn't even hear the wickedness in her own voice.

The sword landed true, stabbing right where the vampire's dead heart was. But the vampire just smiled cruelly. "Seems like I hit a nerve there."

Annie pulled her sword out with a twist. She was holding onto the hilt so tightly that her knuckles were white.

"You can't kill me, I'm already dead." The vampire hissed.

"What are you doing here?" Demetri demanded, stepping next to Annie. He wanted to comfort her, but he knew better than to even think about trying to then.

"Master's orders. The White Witch is far from finished with your lot." The vampire was back to smiling like the demon she was.

"Well, that's a surprise." Demetri responded. "But why now? Why here?"

"It's simple; you're all in one place, but not in Cair Paravel. It's the perfect time to capture all of you at once without having to go to the trouble of seizing the castle."

_I'll keep her talking; I sense someone coming._ Demetri told Annie.

_What if it isn't someone who wants to help us?_ Annie shot back.

_Can we really do anything about it if that's the case?_

_Yes, get out of here now!_

Before the mental argument could continue any longer, a sword came out of nowhere and chopped the vampire's head off.

Peter stepped out from behind the vampire, holding the sword. "So, looks like you two have met our party crashers as well."

"Where's everyone else?" Demetri asked.

"Back at the castle. Dante and I were looking for you two." Peter answered.

"I'll let him know that you found us." Demetri sent Dante a mental message, and Dante headed back to the castle. "You guys got Conan, right?"

Peter nodded. "Just in time too; he was surrounded by three wolves and two vampires. The Witch isn't playing around anymore."

"Let's head back then. From what the vampire said, it sounds like we're safe inside the castle; for now anyways." Demetri suggested.

"Demetri, can you teleport?" Peter asked.

"Yes, but I'm kind of out of magical energy, so I can't take you two with me."

"That's fine, we'll walk back. But you should teleport; the Witch is probably still after you." Peter said.

"And Annie; she's part of our group too." Demetri pointed out.

"I can take care of her," Peter expected Annie to interrupt, saying that she didn't need 'taking care of', but she didn't. "You go ahead, really."

Demetri shrugged, but Annie could tell by his facial expression that he would rather not leave.

As soon as Demetri was gone, Peter turned to Annie. "What's wrong?"

She just shook her head, fighting off tears. After she realized that tears were coming, one way or another, she held out her arms. Peter quickly embraced her, holding her securely against him.

"Hey, it's okay, don't worry." He murmured into her ear as he moved his hand up and down her back, holding her against him with his other arm around her shoulders.

Annie just cried into his shoulder. "I'm just so useless! Conan could have died, and the vampire was right; bringing the whole group in one place outside of the castle was a stupid idea! Of course Jadis is still looking for us!"

"Annie, it's not your fault." It broke Peter's heart to see her like this. "You're just human. Well, you have some extra abilities, but you're still just a person. You can't expect yourself to be perfect."

"Something that the vampire said really got to me." Annie murmured. She seemed to be past the angry-phase of her breakdown.

_Apparently._ Peter thought. _It must have really been something to make her break down like this._

"She was going on and on about my blood; a lot of vampires do that right before they think they're going to drink from a person. But she brought up how Mitch died to save me. In times like these, when I make stupid mistakes or when I'm not there to protect my loved ones, I feel like his sacrifice was such a waste."

Peter pulled away slightly so he could see Annie's face. He was still holding onto her shoulders. "Don't ever think that. You're the most determined, loyal, caring, smart, beautiful, and brave person I know. You're also one of the strongest people I know."

"But you've seen me when I get like this; when I'm far from brave, far from strong-" Annie didn't get far before Peter interrupted her.

"And that's what proves that you're strong; you're human. You still feel. You're not some robot who just looks away their feelings to become powerful. You use your emotions to drive you. They're like your fuel. And besides, the fact that you break down like this only ever makes you stronger. Sure you're vulnerable at times, but your vulnerable points become your greatest strengths. You make it happen!"

Annie just looked at Peter, trying to fathom just how much he cared about her. Apparently it was a lot.

"So don't you ever, ever, think that Mitch wasted his life. From what you've told me, he was a smart guy; he knew what he was doing. He wouldn't make a mistake like that. He knew just as well as I know now how amazing you are."

Annie smiled a small, warm smile. "Thank you Peter."

He embraced her again, and they both wished that the moment would never end.

**I hope you guys liked the update. I don't really have a solid idea for the next chapter, so if any of you do, please tell me in reviews! Even if you don't have an idea, I love reviews! And if you tell me something that really affects the story, you can most definitely expect a shout-out. **


	24. Secrets, Secrets, Are No Fun

**I spent a little longer on this chapter than I had originally planned, but I think it was worth it. It's also a pretty long chapter (like nine pages in word) so enjoy!**

The next day in the castle everyone agreed to lay low. Even though it would be okay for people to leave in small groups, nobody really wanted to after yesterday's close call.

Annie was meditating on a balcony above the training area. She hadn't meditated in a few days, and that wasn't really a safe idea. Without her emotions under control, her hard-earned control over the elements would be gone before she even knew it.

She heard footsteps approaching, and judging by the lightness, it was probably Lucy, Akari, Duff, or Conan. In other words, one of her smaller friends.

"Annie, can I talk to you?" It was Conan.

She turned around to face him. "Of course you can, come over here." _It's the least I can do after almost getting him killed yesterday._

"You didn't almost get me killed yesterday." He said, sitting down next to her.

Annie smiled at him. "Right, mind link in the group, I forgot."

"Staying with these Royals is really softening you up." He stretched out before jumping up on the balcony's granite railing. He sat there with his legs crossed, his near-perfect balance keeping him in place.

"Oh, and you're not getting soft from eating everything they put in front of you?" Annie chuckled. "You're right though. I need to get out, go places, and do things. Do you remember what our group had planned?"

Now that made him grin. And he looked like an evil little imp when he grinned. "No duh! We were gonna pick up just where you and Dante left off!"

"Yeah," Annie's voice was softer and thoughtful now. "Bringing justice from behind the scenes. The Royals have good intentions, but they have to go through so much to do so little."

"As you taught me; screw legal technicalities." Conan flicked his hand as if he was flicking away the law itself.

Annie couldn't help but laugh. "Well will get out there; I'm not going to be here forever." Annie looked out over the Royal's estate. "Even though I'm seriously considering calling this place my home, I wouldn't be here all the time."

"Yeah, that would be nice." Conan agreed. "Too bad your boyfriend keeps you trapped here."

Annie raised an eyebrow. "It's that obvious?"

"Come on Annie, we all know that if you could, you would leave this place every once in awhile." Conan said, sounding serious for once. "And the thing is, you [i]can[/i] leave here. You could stand up to Peter, and tell him that-"

"Conan, don't you think I've talked to him about it?" Annie sighed. "It's a work in progress. And as of now, it's our biggest conflict."

"You can't let him be in charge of you Annie; you're your own person." Conan paused, clearly digging up more support for his argument. "Besides, what about all that girl-power junk you told me about?"

"Junk?"

"Sorry, stuff." Conan quickly corrected. "But seriously Annie, didn't you say that when you first got here you put up with a lot of crap because you were a girl? That was all for nothing if you don't stand up for yourself now!"

"Hm," Annie thought for a moment. "I think you're right Conan. And I really needed that." She stood up and ruffled his hair. "I'm going to go and talk to Peter right now. Thanks buddy."

"No prob. Anything to get some action goin' on here." Conan said, jumping off of the railing onto the balcony. "And about yesterday, seriously, don't worry about it."

Annie froze, but didn't turn around. "It won't happen again Conan, I swear."

Conan looked at the ground. "Yeah, things will be okay now."

Annie heard the conviction in his voice. She carefully pulled up a mental block before thinking, _Is he doubting something? I'll have to keep my eye out. I will not risk anyone's life again. I swear._

"I'll catch you later, Conan, okay?"

"Yeah, later Annie." He took a running start and jumped off the balcony.

Annie had no doubt that the little guy landed perfectly on the ground, so she walked back into the castle, feeling better and worse than before at the same time.

Peter was in his room, sharpening his sword. He had been a little shaken up by yesterday, but he was more worried about Annie. It had been one of her group members that had been at risk; he knew that she must feel heavily responsible.

A knock on the door broke him from his thoughts. He got up and opened it to see Annie standing on the other side. "Oh, hey." He smiled. "What's up?"

Annie returned the smile, but Peter felt like something was missing from it. _Does that mean something's wrong?_ "I need to talk to you about something." She said.

"Oh, okay, come on in." _Yes, something is most definitely wrong._

Peter sat down on his bed, and Annie sat down in the chair at his desk. "What do we need to talk about?"

Annie seemed to be gathering her thoughts. _Never a good sign; it usual means that she expects and argument._ He thought.

"It's about my freedom." She wouldn't look him in the eye, which was another bad sign.

"Your freedom?" Now Peter was confused.

She sighed. "I know that you're afraid of losing me again, and believe me, I don't want that to happen either, but you can't control me."

"Oh, I see; this is about you being able to leave the castle." Now he was the one who wouldn't look her in the eye.

"Yes, exactly. What I'm trying to say is that you're not my parent. The only person who's even close to that is Dante. If you try to control me, things are going to go from bad to worse." Annie paused. "Peter, would you just look at me?"

Peter looked up almost reluctantly.

"What do you see?" She asked.

Peter paused for a moment. He saw so much when he looked at Annie. She was a lot to take in, a lot to understand. He still couldn't say that he understood her completely; that would come with time.

"I see the girl that I love, the person I care more about than anyone else in all of Narnia." Peter said, smiling warmly.

"If that's true, that you care about me that much, you wouldn't want to cage me up." Annie said.

_Now I see what she's doing, _Peter realized,_ She thinks she can twist my words by asking the right questions. She always knows how I'm going to answer her, which puts her at a clear advantage._

"Annie, I don't want to cage you; I want to keep you safe." He said, staying as calm as possible. _If I stay calm and just keep contradicting her, she's bound to lose her temper at some point._ He thought.

"Peter, I don't think you understand." Annie paused, forcing her temper to stay in check. The fact that she had just meditated helped. "I can't be trapped here. I was trapped by the White Witch not very long ago, and I just escaped that. If I'm trapped again, I will escape again."

"What do you mean?" Peter knew that her words made sense, but he wanted to be sure of what she was implying.

"What I'm saying is that either I'm allowed to leave, or I will leave." The look in her eyes said that she was dead serious. "If you try to control me to not lose me, you will lose me, indefinitely. I'd say that taking the risk of giving me my freedom is your best option."

Peter sighed. "You're right Annie. I've been a jerk about this." He stood up and walked over to her, holding out his hand. "I'm sorry."

She put her hand in his and stood before hugging him. "I forgive you; you were only a jerk about it because you care."

"I just don't want to lose you."

"You won't lose me, I swear. I can take care of myself, contrary to your belief." She pulled back a bit so he could see her grin.

Peter smiled for a moment, but then his face changed.

Annie barely had time to stop grinning before Peter started leaning in. Her eyes widened as she realized what was happening.

But before it could actually happen, there was knock on the door.

Peter closed his eyes and sighed in frustration, causing Annie to chuckle. "I'll get it." She said, walking to the door.

She opened the door to see Demetri. "Oh, Demetri, were you looking for Peter?"

"No, I was actually looking for you. I wanted to train, but if you're busy with...something else, that's fine." Demetri said.

Annie realized that her current location could be taken the wrong way, so she figured she'd prove that she had nothing to hide. "No, that's fine, I had just finished talking to Peter about something. I'll be out in a moment."

She shut the door and turned back to Peter. "Demetri wants to train, and I haven't really been spending time with the group, so I-"

"That's fine, go." Peter was smiling. "I'll see you later, okay?"

Annie smiled. "Okay."

When she walked back out, Demetri was waiting for her.

"To the training grounds?" She asked.

"I was actually thinking the woods; the spells I want to work on could be dangerous, and I don't want to impair anyone else's training." Demetri answered.

"That's fine, let's go then." Annie answered.

It didn't take them long to get to the woods. When they got there, they talked for awhile, trading war stories about their personal experiences before being captured by Jadis.

"Have you ever noticed that none of the Royals ever call her Jadis?" Demetri asked, shooting what had to be his seventh arrow at the tree across the clearing from where he was sitting.

_That nickname is really starting to stick; I think the whole group is using it._ Annie thought. "Yeah, that's one of the first things I noticed when I first came here." She paused, throwing a rock across the clearing. It hit the arrow-covered tree and bounced off onto the forest floor. "I think it's because they don't really know her. I mean, they know who she is, but they haven't had many close encounters. Except Edmund."

"Yeah, she had him there a few weeks after she captured me." Demetri said, shooting another arrow.

"Really?" Annie asked. "You were stuck there for awhile then."

"The longest out of the whole group." Demetri said. "You know, that's where I met Conan."

"Really? I always thought that you two knew each other from before you'd been captured."

"Nope. I met the kid in Jadis's ice palace." Demetri shot another arrow. "He was a mess. I don't think he would have stayed sane without me. I don't mean it in a bragging way; anyone could have done what I did. He just needed a friend."

"Yeah, I get it." Annie said softly. "It's really sad being alone. After I lost Mitch and Odette, I was devastated. I didn't know what to do, so I ran, leaving Dante behind. I regretted that for so long; I didn't realize that he was the only person I had left, and I left him."

"Hey, it's okay." Demetri put down his bow and faced Annie. "You have him back now, and Odette was here the other day. Now you have the whole group and the Royals."

Annie smiled. "You're right, thanks Dem." Sure the others said it was a crappy nickname, but Annie still used it sometimes.

"No problem; what are friends for?" He smiled.

The sound of footsteps snapped them out of their thoughts.

"I think we've been followed." Demetri muttered. "Duck down."

Annie ducked down next to him, trying to sense who, or what, was coming. "Royals? Some of the group?" She whispered.

"No, I wish."

Annie put her hands on the ground to feel the vibrations better. "It's wolves, probably Jadis's. Let's go climb up the tree; they'll get confused and lose our scent."

"Good idea." Demetri muttered. He gave Annie a boost into the tree next to them, grabbed his bow and followed her up shortly after.

They stayed up there and watched as the wolves, there was about a half a dozen of them, come into the clearing, try to catch the scent again, and move on.

After a few moments, Annie spoke up; "I think we're good now."

"Yeah, let's get down."

Demetri climbed down first because he was blocking Annie's way. Once he got to the ground, he looked up. "You can come down now, you know."

"How high is it?"

"Not too high, why?" He sounded puzzled by her question.

"I'm going to jump down." Annie said. Before Demetri could say anything, Annie was falling down from the tree. When Demetri had said it wasn't too high, he hadn't realized that she was planning on jumping out of it. He tried to catch her, but they both just wound up on the ground.

Demetri looked down to see Annie underneath him. After a moment, they both started laughing.

"Now if you fell and I was already down here, how come I'm on top of you?" He was grinning like a fool.

"I'm not sure." Annie replied, laughing. "But maybe it's because you decided to play hero and try to catch me."

When she saw the expression on his face though, Annie stopped laughing. Not only did he act and speak like Mitch, he even looked like him.

"Is something wrong?" He asked, looking concerned.

"N-no, it's nothing." Annie could feel her face heating up. _No, this can't be happening!_ "You can get off of me now."

"Oh, right, sorry." Demetri stood up quickly. "Come on, it's almost dark; we should be getting back now."

"Yeah, we should." Annie muttered.

The walk back to the castle was perfectly uneventful and rather quiet. Annie couldn't shake the feeling that there was some sort of connection between Demetri and Mitch. It hadn't been a problem before, just an odd coincidence. Now it was becoming an issue.

When Annie got back to the castle, she quickly separated from Demetri. She bumped into Conan on her way to her bedchamber.

"Hey Conan, it's late, shouldn't you be in bed?" Even her voice sounded tired. She needed rest.

"Gee, thanks mom." Conan said jokingly. His face turned serious though, which was a rare occurrence for him.

"What's wrong? You look all serious." Annie said, feeling curious.

"I can tell you anything, right?" He asked.

"Of course, we're like family, you know that." Annie said, putting her hands on the small boy's shoulders. "Is there something that you need to tell me?"

Conan still had a mental guard up. He used one a lot these days. _I should tell her! She needs to know that there's something up with Demetri!_ "No, I just wanted to know." _But Demetri's my best friend. Besides, I could just be imaging things. That's probably all it is._

"Well, alright then." Annie said, knowing that there was something going on. He had the same contradiction in his voice that he had had earlier that day. "I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

"Yeah, goodnight Annie."

"Goodnight Conan."

Late that night, Demetri sneaked out of the castle and teleported deep into the woods.

"Demetri, have you made any progress in your mission?" An icy voice spoke from the shadows, chilling the forest around them.

"Yes, my queen." Demetri answered, getting on one knee and bowing. "She made the connection between Mitch and I long ago and just today it began to affect her."

"Very good. You've served me well Demetri." Jadis stepped out of the shadows. "You must return to Cair Paravel tonight. I wouldn't want you to be caught."

"Yes, your majesty."

"And be careful of that Conan boy. I spared him as you requested, but if anyone will find you out, it'll be him."

"I'll make sure to keep him as oblivious as the others." _That way he'll be as safe as them as well._ He added silently.

"Your mission is crucial. The sickness has already weakened the royal family. Morale is down, and their boy king, Peter, is the one who's doing the most to keep it up. If we take him down, the rest of the castle will crumble. And the best way to take him down,"

"Is to steal what he cherishes most; Annie." Demetri finished.

"Exactly. Besides, she's a valuable warrior. I'd love to add her to my collection." Jadis smiled wickedly at the thought. "Don't disappoint me; I've given you everything you need to win her over."

"Of course, your majesty." And with that, he slipped into the night, teleporting back to his room at Cair Paravel.

Jadis let out an evil laugh. "In no time, I will have conquered Cair Paravel. Then all of Narnia will be within my reach."

**So, I hope that you all liked this chapter. I added a bit of twist now, didn't I? Reviews would be lovely, and reviews that say more than just update would be even lovelier. I like any reviews, but you get the point.**


	25. Strange Things Are Happening

_Time for a group meeting. _

Dante's mental message woke Annie up that morning. For some reason yesterday had exhausted her. Maybe it was just the stress of Conan nearly dying. Even though she didn't feel guilty anymore, she still couldn't shake the feeling that it was part of something bigger. Maybe it was just the beginning, a warning perhaps...

_That means you too Annie._ Dante added.

_Relax, I'm coming. I just woke up._ She responded with mild irritation.

_We're all right outside the entrance to the main courtyard. _

_Alright, thanks. _Annie said, putting up a mental guard after replying. She slipped on a loose tunic and riding pants. She didn't bother with full armor, but she put protective covers on her forearms and she wore knee-high boots, two things that she normally reserved for covert missions. The protective covers on her forearms where as much a weapon as a defense; they were made out of a mixture of leather and crushed diamonds, making them a lethal asset. Her boots where made of the same material to add some power to her kicks and to protect her shins.

After leaving a note with a servant to let Peter know where she was, Annie met up with the rest of the group.

"So, what are we up to today?" She asked as she jogged up to her friends.

Dante looked around cautiously. Luckily it was still early enough that there weren't many people around. "We're going to meet up with Odette on the outskirts of town," There was only one useful town that had a trading market and a pier close to the castle, so we all knew which one he meant. "We need to get back on our plan."

Annie's eyes widened from surprise and excitement. "You mean _the _plan?"

Dante nodded.

"What are we waiting for, let's go!" Duff was practically hopping in anticipation.

And so they did. For the first time in a long time, the group could travel without any pressure, so they simply walked, chatting as they went.

Annie worked her way over to Akari. "Akari, what's Duff so excited about? He doesn't even know that much about this plan yet."

Akari gave her a sort of sad smile. "Annie, we're leaving."

Annie practically stopped walking. "What do you mean? Who's leaving? And where are-"

"Just Duff and I." She grabbed my hand, pulling me along so we kept up with the group. "We're going to be staying with Odette. It's not easy to be a spy on your own, so we've decided to help her out."

"There's more to it than that, isn't there?" Annie prompted.

Akari nodded. "Duff and I are half vampire. It's never really been important, but now that we're getting older, well, we need some help from a true vampire. It's not easy for half vampires to be away from full vampires. And besides, we're getting weird abilities, like vampire magic, that we need some help figuring out."

"Wow, this just seems so out of the blue." Annie said.

"Well, Duff and I spent a lot of time at Cair Paravel training with their healer, Gwen. She knows a lot about different types of magic, and she pointed it out. If it wasn't for her, we'd be in a lot of trouble."

"You guys have to visit with Odette as much as you can, promise?" Annie asked, ruffling Akari's short hair.

"Oh, don't worry about that. You'll be seeing a lot more of Odette now that you're starting the plan, and we'll tag along with her when we can." Akari said with a grin.

_That's right, the plan. I can't do it without Odette, can I? I'm not even sure how we're going to pull it off without Mitch. _She looked over at Demetri without thinking about it, but she quickly looked away. _That's insane. Just because they look and act alike does **not **mean that Demetri can fill Mitch's spot with Odette and I._

"Yeah, I can't wait." Annie said, putting on her best smile. _No need to let the group know that Demetri's confusing me._ She thought.

Before they knew it, they were right on the outskirts of town. Odette was waiting for them, just as she had said she'd be. It was odd, seeing Odette dressed in anything but her mission gear or her royal attire. But now she was dressed like any other commoner. She even was using some of her vampire magic to put up a more human guise. Annie had gotten used to the guises long ago and could see through them, but she knew from past experience that the guise made Odette look less pale, less dark and overall less intimidating and enthralling.

Even though it's myth that vampires can't go into sunlight, it's true that sunlight, and daytime in general, makes them uncomfortable. And though Odette tried not to show it, she was definitely not comfortable.

"So, where are these vamplings?" She said in her usual monotone voice.

"Vamplings?" Duff repeated.

"Yeah, that's what we call half vampires." Odette answered. "And I think you're one of them."

"You're right." Dante said, stepping forward. "And his name is Duff. Akari is the other one, his twin sister."

"I figured that much out, surprisingly enough." Odette said sarcastically. Still, she let out a grin. She had always had a bit of a soft spot for Dante.

The twins ran over to her which surprising enthusiasm.

"Where did that come from?" Conan muttered to Demetri.

Odette's superior hearing heard Conan. "It's because they haven't been around a true vampire for so long. Now that they maturing, they need to be around one, or bad things will happen."

"So you really have to go then, don't you?" Conan's words were directed at Akari. Besides Demetri, Akari was Conan's closest friend.

She nodded sadly before walking over to him. "But I'll visit whenever I can, I promise." It was odd hearing Akari say 'I' instead of 'we'. The twins so often spoke of each other like that, rarely speaking of only their individual self. Shocking most of the group, Akari leaned in and kissed Conan on the cheek.

Conan seemed shocked, but he hugged her, holding her tight for a brief moment. Then she skipped back to her brother and Odette.

"Well, I guess that I'll be seeing you guys later then." Odette said, turning to walk into the shadows with the twins at her heels. It was apparent how at ease they felt around her already; she didn't even have to tell them to follow her.

"Ah, Odette, don't forget about meeting Annie and I later." Dante said.

She froze, not turning to look at them. "Of course not." And at that, she disappeared into the shadows.

It was a quiet walk back to the castle, much to Demetri dismay. He desperately wanted to make another move on Annie, but he couldn't risk Dante noticing what he was up to.

When they got back to the castle, Demetri got his wish. "Hey, Demetri, why don't you go and train with Conan and Annie." Dante suggested.

"Okay, sure. Do you want to come to?" Demetri offered. He knew that Dante wouldn't have asked Demetri to do it if he intended on coming, but he had to offer to avoid all suspicion.

"No, Susan's really upset about her brother Edmund being sick, so I want to go and be with her for a little while." Dante answered, almost sheepishly.

Demetri smiled at Dante. "Have fun."

Dante sighed, probably at himself, before walking off.

Demetri walked over to Annie and Conan. "Do you guys want to train?"

"Sure, I'm game." Annie said cheerily.

To everyone's surprise, Conan objected. "I'm gonna sit this one out." He seemed a little down. "I'll see you guys later, okay?"

"Yeah, sure Conan." Annie said, feeling a little confused.

As Demetri and Annie walked to the arena, Annie asked why Demetri thought Conan was so down.

"He has a thing for Akari." Demetri answered simply.

"Oh! That makes sense." Annie exclaimed. "I can't believe I never noticed."

"Eh, don't worry about it. If he really wanted you to know, he would have told you." Demetri said.

"I guess you have a point there." Annie grinned all of a sudden.

Demetri caught her grin. "What?"

"No, it's silly." Annie said, looking away from Demetri.

"Really, what is it?" Demetri had stopped walking, and Annie stopped with him.

"Well, I just wondered if you had ever liked anyone." Annie admitted a bit shyly. _I should have lied and said something else! _

Demetri smiled for a moment, but then his face turned serious. "Yes, I have liked someone before. Just one person."

His serious expression and the weight of his words froze Annie in place with wide eyes. _He can't mean me, can he? No, of course he can't. He doesn't. _

But Demetri's hand that came forward and cupped her cheek said otherwise. "One, truly amazing person." He locked his gaze on hers.

_Those eyes, they're even the same **color **as Mitch's were! _Annie thought, still frozen by shock. _Oh by the Lion's Mane, help! _

"Annie, you are a truly amazing person." Demetri said. He started to lean in towards Annie, and that's what gave her enough of a warning bell to break out of her initial shock. She pulled back fast, shaking her head.

"No, Demetri, no." _That's right; Demetri. His name is Demetri._ "I'm sorry that you feel that way, because my heart belongs to Peter."

Demetri just kept looking at her with those transfixing ice blue eyes, but after a moment, he sighed and looked away. "I'm sorry, I was out of line to say what I said."

That made Annie sigh. She ran a hand through her hair, which was starting to get kind of long again, as she tried to think of an appropriate response. "You weren't totally out of line. We're friends and teammates, so we need to be honest with each other, but being honest requires saying how you feel, not acting on it."

"You're right, Annie. I really am sorry." Demetri said, looking back at Annie.

"It's fine Demetri, really. Maybe we can train later, okay?" Annie said, trying to look anywhere but at those eyes.

Demetri said some response that Annie heard but didn't really process. _I need to train; that'll take my mind off of this. _

When Annie got to the arena, she saw the usual staff there. She asked one of the servants to go and fetch Peter for her.

As she waited for Peter, Annie went to her weapons storage room that was built into the arena. The arena still looked the same as always. The terrain was still grassy with a large pond in center and a variety of trees scattered throughout the area. Annie did notice that some trees had been moved to leave a clear area, where the grass was worn away to mostly dirt. A servant was drawing a chalk circle around the dirt patch. _Well, that could be fun. _Annie thought with a grin.

After gearing up with two swords, a number of daggers, a bow and some arrows, Annie saw Peter walking in with Lucy.

"Hey Annie, I hope you don't mind that I brought Lucy." Peter called from the arena's entrance.

"Of course not." Annie called back.

Peter jogged over to Annie. "With Ed sick, Gwen busy healing, and Susan trying to run things, Lucy has been getting awfully bored, and she hasn't trained in ages."

Annie grinned. "Well, nows her chance."

"Actually, I wanted to see the two of you battle." Lucy said, smiling. Annie hadn't even noticed her walk over.

Peter shrugged. "I'm game if you are."

"Always." Annie said, still grinning. She checked quickly to make sure he had a weapon on him, which he did, before lunging at him.

Even though Annie jumping at him out of nowhere was slightly surprising, Peter reacted well. He pulled his broadsword out of it's sheath and deflected her blow with it. It took him a moment to realize that Annie didn't have a weapon drawn; she had merely came at him her forearm. _How is my blade not slicing through her arm? _He tried to see if she had any armor on under her tunic, but she was in motion again before he had the chance.

And man was she in motion. Peter was almost transfixed by the grace of her movement as she jumped up and did a flip over him, landed perfectly and almost silently.

Still, no amount of grace could have fully distracted Peter from this fight. He knew that if he lost he'd be hearing about it until their next duel. He lashed out with his sword, pushing a hard offense on her. She just kept blocking his attacks with her forearms, but he was pushing her hard; she was almost backed up into the pond.

_Wait, the pond. No, I can't let her get near water. _Peter thought suddenly.

It was almost like Annie read his thoughts. She stepped backwards into the water and it was obvious that it was rejuvenating her.

Peter swore under his breath. He couldn't just wait for her to attack, the only progress he had made so far had been by taking the offensive, so that's what he did.

Only this time, he decided to try a bit of a different approach. He put his sword back in it's sheath and charged at Annie, preparing to punch her.

And that's when they heard Lucy scream.

Annie was at the young queen's side in a flash thanks to the energy the water had given her.

"Peter, she fainted!" Annie called.

Peter felt fear course through his body. That was the first sign of the sickness. Still, he put on a brave face and sprinted over to his sister.

Annie was talking to some of the servants that had rushed over when they heard Lucy. They were taking her to the infirmary.

"I'm going to go with her, do you want to come?" Peter asked Annie, lacing his hand through hers.

Annie shook her head. "I'll meet up with you later, okay?"

Peter nodded. He gave her hand a squeeze before following after the servants.

Annie stood on the edge of the arena, keeping her balance against the wind that had just picked up. _Just like that, half of the royal family is ill. _She thought.


	26. They Come At Night

Cair Paravel practically glowed. The glow radiated off of everything from the castle itself to the people in it. This ball had been thrown in an attempt to cheer up the nobility and hopefully distract them from not only the epidemic, but Aslan's recent absence. So far it seemed to be working, but Annie felt as anxious as ever.

She played with the edge of her sleeve underneath the table, trying to hide her anxiety. Dante's reappearance at her side proved that she must be failing miserably.

"Just try to relax," he whispered to her. "It'll all be over soon enough."

She managed a nod as he walked away. Some party guests looked over at her and waved. She smiled back politely. _I can do this. It's just like Dante said, it will be over soon enough_.

And that's when everything took a wrong turn.

Someone screamed, drawing the attention of everyone in the room. "It's High King Peter, he's fainted!"

Annie stood up and saw Peter on the ballroom floor. She stood up so fast that her chair went flying backwards behind her. She was kneeling over Peter in seconds.

"Peter? Peter?" She grasped his shoulders and tried to shake him awake. She heard fragments of conversation around her.

"-how the sickness starts,"

"-the coma will be next,"

"-he won't wake up from that,"

Annie gave his shoulders another shake before leaning closer to him. "Peter, please, stay with me! Peter!" She felt hands grabbing her from behind, pulling her away from him.

"No, no! Let me be with him!" She was shrieking at the top of her lungs. They couldn't take her away from him; not now. Not if he was really-

She couldn't even think it.

The hands yanked her forcefully away from him.

"NO!"

As she shrieked, the radiant ballroom melted away and she was in her room. Her hands were white from grasping the windowpane and she was leaning out of the open window. _What's going on?_ She tried to make sense of what was happening.

There were still hands on her, and those hands pulled her away from the window and into an embrace. "Shh," Peter's voice filled her ears and she clung to him. "It was just a dream, everything is fine."

Annie held onto him for dear life. _Since when were dreams that real?_

She pulled back and looked into Peter's deep blue eyes. "You're fine?" Her voice sounded so small.

"Of course I am. And you are too. You just had a nightmare." He kissed her forehead and walked her over to her bed.

Peter sat down next to Annie and she held his face with her hands. Yes, he was really there, awake and perfectly fine. She let out a breath of relief. A brief movement caught her eye at her bedroom door. She saw Conan's bright eyes in the doorway before he darted off.

"Was I shrieking?"

Peter nodded. "That's why I came in. Conan and Demetri are worried sick."

Annie mentally slapped herself. _Brilliant, get the whole group freaked out. Way to go._ "Where's Dante?" She had expected her brother to be the first one in here.

"He said he had some business to take care of and would be away for a few days." Peter was obviously distracted.

Annie's questioning gaze was enough indication for Peter to explain. "I was just wondering what your nightmare was about."

Annie shuddered. "Everything was fine, but then you were sick. You fainted, and you wouldn't wake up. And then someone was pulling me away from you."

Peter pulled her close again. "Well, you have nothing to worry about, you know why?"

"Why?" Annie murmured it into his shoulder.

"Because I'm not sick, and even if I was, nothing could pull us away from each other; ever."

Peter left Annie's room after she had drifted off to sleep. After shutting Annie's door, he turned around to find himself face to face Demetri.

"She's fine, it was just a nightmare," Peter said, knowing Demetri had been worried.

"Conan will be glad to hear that," Demetri said. "She didn't hurt herself, did she?"

Peter was surprised by the question at first, but it made sense when he remembered how he had found Annie about to launch herself out of her window. "She was halfway out the window when I came in, but I got there in time, I pulled her back."

Demetri hit the wall with his arm before sighing. "What if next time you aren't there in time? Or what if you can't wake her up? That happened all the time when we were with the Witch."

Peter ignored, for the moment, how worked up Demetri was getting about this. "This has happened before?"

Demetri nodded. "She has nightmares all the time. They aren't always this bad, but they tend to be. They make her," he paused, looking pained, like it was hard to even talk about. "They make her do horrible things, like try and off herself, or attack people who try to wake her up. They're truly awful."

"Everyone has nightmares; why do hers make her try and kill herself?" Peter cringed as the words left his mouth. He couldn't stand the thought of losing Annie at all, especially not to her own nightmares.

"Don't you think if we knew we would have fixed it by now?" Demetri sighed again. "I'm sorry, it's just…frustrating. Dante thinks it's because she's an Elementor, because he used to get them as well."

"He doesn't anymore?"

"Not that the group knows of. If he still gets them, he handles them on his own. How, I don't know," Demetri answered. "Did you tell her after she woke up?"

"Oh, wake her up from an obviously traumatizing nightmare to tell her she nearly pitched herself out a window?" Peter seemed to be picking up some sarcasm from Annie. "That doesn't sound upsetting at all."

Demetri looked at Peter with disbelief. "So you didn't tell her that she tried to kill herself?"

"She was a mess! You want me to make things worse? And besides, why does she need to know?"

"If she knows what's going on she can meditate and set up mental defenses against the dreams, Peter!" Demetri's voice was raised now, and he and Peter were a heartbeat away from attacking each other.

"Why do you care so much about this!" After Peter shouted it, the words really sunk in. _Why does he care so much? Sure they're in the same group and they've been through some tough times together, but his concern goes far past that._

Demetri shoved away from Peter. "It's the dynamic of our group; you wouldn't understand it." Before Peter could reply, Demetri stormed down the hall, leaving a dumbfounded Peter standing in front of Annie's room.

Annie was laying in bed, awoken by the voices outside of her door. She heard the boys talking about her nightmares, and she listened in growing horror as she heard what she had nearly done and as the boys started to argue. Her mind was reeling, replaying the moments when Dante and Demetri had woken her from those nightmares back at the White Witch's castle. But there was one moment that her mind wouldn't let go; the moment when Demetri had confessed his feelings for her.

Because she knew the answer to Peter's question, and she knew it had _nothing_ to do with 'the dynamic of the group'.

She curled up in bed, pulling her sheets close to her. What in the world was she going to do about Demetri?


	27. Walking Dead

The next day Annie decided to pretend she hadn't overheard the boys in the hall. She felt like a coward, but she wasn't ready to deal with any of it yet. She sat through breakfast, smiling politely but not talking very much.

As everyone was eating, Susan stood up. "I'm going to Calormen," she announced.

Peter nearly spat out his food. "What? Why?"

Susan rolled her eyes, but answered regardless. "In case you haven't noticed, there's a plague in our kingdom, and we're on the brink of a war. We need allies and we need medical advice or support. Maybe Calormen has dealt with this sickness before. We can't have half of our kingdom ill when the Witch attacks us."

"You're not going alone; we've had far too many clashes with Calormen for my liking," Peter said, knowing he couldn't convince her to stay.

"I'll go with her," Dante spoke up. Everybody looked at him, surprised and a little confused.

Susan's cheeks turned a faint pink, but she cleared her throat. "Fine, if my brother insists."

"Then it's settled; Dante and Susan will travel to Calormen, with a small group of soldiers of course," Peter said. "If that's what you really think we should do, Su," he asked her as a sibling, not a fellow ruler.

"I do, Peter," Susan replied.

Susan wanted to leave that day, so a few hours later, Dante was packing his things, shooing Conan and Demetri as he tried to get ready. Annie came to his room and he let her in, wanting to talk to her before he left.

"I want you to be careful while I'm gone," he said, not looking up from his sword that he was wrapping. "Just because you're in charge of the group doesn't mean you can go wild and do whatever you want."

"In other words, I shouldn't get married or anything rash like that?" Annie asked.

Dante spun around to face his sister, unaware that she was joking. "Is there something you need to tell me?"

"I was kidding, Dante."

"You didn't answer my question," he said, still looking at her seriously. "Is there something you need to tell me?"

Annie looked down at her hands, and in that instant Dante knew she was hiding something. "Annie, please, what's wrong?"

She sighed. "It's nothing; I just had a nightmare last night."

"You need to tell me these things," Dante said, holding her small hands in his. "You didn't hurt yourself, did you?"

She shook her head. "Peter came in and woke me up."

Dante knew she still was keeping something from him, but he dropped it. She wasn't going to tell him, so he wasn't going to get her mad at him right before he left. He went back to packing his things.

"So why did you volunteer to go?"

He stopped for a moment, but he quickly closed his bag and carried it out of the room, knowing Annie would follow. "Susan had a good idea, and I wasn't going to let it fall apart because she didn't have an escort."

Annie walked ahead of him. "Yeah, but there are plenty of soldiers that could have escorted her."

"Annie," she stopped and faced her brother. "Just drop it, okay?"

She raised an eyebrow, but he just pulled her into an embrace. "I'll be back before you know it. Take care of the group."

She hugged him back and nodded into his shoulder. He pulled away and kissed her on the forehead.

"Please be careful," He murmured.

"I don't understand why we're on such a tight schedule," the guard at Cair Paravel's gate spoke to the other guard on duty. "We can't guard the castle against an illness."

The other guard shrugged. "I don't get it either, but there must be a reason."

The first guard grunted, but kept looking across the field regardless. That's when he saw a hooded figure approaching, carrying a package.

"Do you see that?" The first guard turned to the other guard, but the other guard was staring straight ahead with wide eyes. The first guard turned and looked forward again to see the hooded figure standing right in front of them.

_But they were all the way across the field just a moment ago!_ The guard thought, wondering if he was seeing things.

The hooded figured lowered their hood, revealing the smiling face of a beautiful woman with icy blue eyes and snow pale skin. "I have a package to deliver," she spoke in a crisp, cool voice.

The first guard stepped forward, but he stopped when the second one grabbed his shoulder. "Don't," he said urgently. "It's her; she's the Witch!"

The woman smiled, but her smile was far more wicked than beautiful now. "What a shame," she pulled out her staff and pointed it at the guards. "I was going to let you live."

Conan dove at Annie, slashing his scimitars at her single sword. He was fast, very fast, but every time he slashed or stabbed, she was there first, blocking his blades with her own.

It wasn't long before she had knocked one of his swords out of his hand, leaving him with one scimitar against her sword. Soon enough, her blade was pointing at his heart.

"Conan, even though you have two scimitars, you still need to know how to fight with one sword." She pulled her sword away and brushed a strand of hair out of her face. "You can't expect to be able to battle efficiently with two swords if you can't even handle one."

"What did I do wrong this time?" It had been his stances last time they had trained. His balance had been so poor that Annie knocked him over just by bumping into him. That's was the consequence for learning sword-fighting in the slums of Calormen; he had great instinct and natural talent, but he had little to no technique.

"Your stances have improved a lot," Annie must have picked up on his train of thought. "But now you're broadcasting your movements. You're practically telling me what you're going to do next."

"In my mind? Because most opponents won't be able to read my mind," Conan argued.

"It wasn't just in your mind," Annie said as she tossed his second scimitar to him. "But even if it was, you never know if your opponent will be able to read your mind. You also never know who you're going to be up against."

"If it wasn't in my mind, how did you know?" Conan caught his second scimitar in his free hand.

"You're _physically_ broadcasting your movements." She sheathed her sword, motioning for him to do the same. "You lean in the direction you're going to move before you actually move. You also move your scimitars before you move your body. You have to treat your blades as an extension of yourself, not as something you're holding."

Conan sighed. "Does this mean more movement training?"

There was a pause, and Conan could tell that Annie was thinking up exercises to give him. "I want you to meditate for thirty minutes, go through the stretches I showed you, and then go through the pattern that Dante taught you, okay? Then we'll duel again."

"Alright," Conan walked off to the end of the arena that led to the warm-up rooms.

Annie unsheathed her sword and began to practice her stances and forms. She was good, there was no denying that, but Dante had left her an entire book of exercises to work on while he was gone.

She was halfway through one of the warm-up patterns when another blade came out of nowhere. Her instinct kicked in and she blocked the blow with her sword.

"You are _so_ good," Peter said, smiling at Annie. "And you know it, too."

Annie grinned back at him before spinning his sword out of his grip with her own. He knew this trick though, and he caught his blade before it could fall. "What are you doing here?"

"Am I not allowed to train?" He laughed as he asked, sheathing his sword.

"I thought you'd be busy now, with Ed and Lucy sick and Susan away. You're the only Royal left." Once the words were out of her mouth, Annie wished she had said them differently. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean-"

Peter shook his head. "It's alright, I know what you meant." He gave her a smile, trying to prove he was okay.

But Annie wasn't fooled. He could hide it from everyone else, but ever since Lucy got sick, Annie could tell that Peter was falling apart. It had been bad enough that Ed was sick, but Lucy too. And now Susan had left him on his own. Part of Annie resented the queen for it, but her better sense knew better. Susan had an idea to make things better, and she went for it. Even though it was hurting Peter, Annie couldn't be angry at Susan for it, because she would have done the same thing.

Annie sheathed her sword and walked over to Peter. She reached out and held her face in her hands. "You are a fantastic king. Susan wouldn't have left you here on your own if you couldn't handle it. Because you can say a lot of things about Susan, well, I can anyways, but she is rational and she thinks things through. You are the High King, and you will not only rule Narnia, but take care of it."

Peter smiled and pulled her into a hug. "You're fantastic," he murmured.

Annie pulled back a little and looked into Peter's eyes. She closed her eyes, leaning in and grinned, knowing Peter was doing the same. She could feel his breath on her lips and-

"Demetri!" Conan's voice echoed throughout the arena as he ran out of the warm-up room.

Annie pulled away from Peter and clenched her hands into tight little fists at her sides. "Conan, you're supposed to be meditating," she said through clenched teeth.

Conan looked at her, guilt and confusion swirling together on his face and in his mind. "I'm sorry, I just got excited."

Annie sighed. "It's fine, just get back to meditating, alright? Start over and make sure you're at it for _thirty minutes_."

"Fine," Conan groaned before running back to the warm-up room.

Demetri chuckled as he walked up to Peter and Annie. "Care to explain why you've turned into a dictator about his training?"

Annie narrowed her eyes at Demetri. "In case you haven't noticed, we're on the brink of a war," she snapped.

Peter put his hand on her shoulder. "Relax, okay?"

Annie was still looking at Demetri though, and she could have sworn that when Peter touched her shoulder, she saw a flicker of something, sadness, jealousy even, flash in Demetri's eyes.

She sighed and pulled out of Peter's grasp. "What do you need, Demetri?"

"I just got a package, from my old teacher," Demetri held out a book that was still wrapped. "One of the guards said it was dropped off earlier today."

"And?"

"It's a book about Elementors," Demetri explained. "It might have something about your nightmares in it, and how to get rid of them."

Even as irritated as she was, Annie couldn't deny that she was curious about the book. "Can I look at it?"

"Of course," Demetri said. "Why don't we all go back to the castle, so Conan can actually focus, and take a look?"

"That sounds like a great-" Peter was cut off when a guard ran into the arena.

"King Peter, you're needed in the castle to meet with the noblemen of Archenland," the servant said, looking slightly dazed.

Peter sighed. "I'm sorry, but we've been waiting for these noblemen for weeks now, and-"

"Don't worry about it, Peter," Annie said. "I can manage on my own."

He smiled. "Of course." He kissed her on the forehead before jogging out of the arena.

The guard started to walk away as well, but Annie grabbed him by the wrist. "Could you tell Peter to meet me on the balcony tonight?"

The guard gave her a blank, dazed look. "Of course, ma'am," he replied in a monotone voice.

Annie watched, confused, as the guard left the arena.

"What's wrong?" Demetri asked.

Annie shook her head. "It's nothing," she said. But it was far from nothing. She had noticed something even more unsettling than the guard's blank, dazed expression. When she had grabbed his wrist, he hadn't had a pulse.

** I hope you guys like how the story's going. Please, message me, email me, or even just review with feedback. I'm extremely open to opinions and ideas. In fact, I'd **_**love**_** to hear from you guys. Check out my profile for updates on what I'm doing, and check out my blog **.com/**, that way you have another way to nag me if I go MIA.**


	28. Going Crazy

Demetri started talking about the book, tearing off the packaging and thumbing through the pages. But Annie couldn't tear her thoughts from the guard without a pulse. And with good reason. That was _not_ normal.

"Demetri, we need to go back to the castle," she interrupted him reluctantly, because she was dying to go through the book, but the situation couldn't be ignored.

There was also part of her that didn't want to be alone with Demetri again.

Demetri looked up from the book with a confused expression. "Why? Is something wrong?"

"That guard, the one who dropped off the book and came for Peter," she paused, not wanting to sound crazy but realizing she was talking to Demetri, who would believe her no matter how crazy she sounded. "The guard didn't have a pulse."

Demetri raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Then by all means, let's go."

As they walked into the castle, Demetri made sure that he hid his frustration. _How could she be that sloppy? I mean really, she shouldn't have killed the guard in the first place, since it would just attract attention, but she actually killed the guard that she needed to deliver the book._ He couldn't believe that his mistress had been that shortsighted. Then again, she did have a bit of a temper, and she always made it work in the end. She had gotten the book to him, after all.

But now Annie knew something was amiss, and she was the last person who needed to know. Actually, it would be worse if Dante knew, because Annie could be more easily distracted. It wasn't ideal though.

Demetri followed Annie as she found Peter, all but running into his arms, much to the king's surprise. He heard the king murmur comforting words into her ear as he held her. They were words meant only for Annie, but Demetri always heard more than he was meant to; heightened senses came with the territory of being a Spellcaster.

Eventually Peter pulled away from Annie and called the guards over. "Which guard was it, Annie?" Peter asked.

Annie looked puzzled for a moment, and Demetri was one step ahead of her, realizing how the Witch had cleaned up her mess. _She got rid of the guard,_ Demetri realized. He didn't know how, but that was the only explanation. Unless whatever magic had kept the dead man animated had worn off, causing him to drop dead. Demetri just assumed that someone would have noticed if that was the case.

Regardless of how it happened, the walking-dead guard was not one of the two in the room, but this didn't seem to faze Annie. Not yet anyways.

"It's neither of these two," she said, turning to Peter after giving the guards an apologetic smile. "I'm looking for the guard who delivered the package to Demetri in the arena. You know, the one who told you the noblemen from Archenland were here to meet you."

Now it was Peter's turn to look confused. Before he could say anything though, one of the guards chimed in, though somewhat nervously.

"Pardom me, ma'am, but I'm the guard who came to you in the arena."

And the confusion was spread to Annie once again. Demetri felt sorry for her; this was more than just a switch around of people; the Witch had actually used some memory-altering magic.

Which left Annie confused, and Peter concerned. "He's right, Annie, he's the one who dropped off the package for Demetri and he told me about the nobles, who, had to leave already because they got word that their youngest daughter came down with the sickness."

It turned into one of those moments where nobody said it at first, but they were all thinking the same thing. The sickness tended to start with a few things. The most telltale sign was when the person passed out, generally leading to the coma. But before they passed out, other signs led up to it. One of the most common signs was delusions, hallucinations, and confusion in general.

And to everybody except Demetri, Annie looked quite confused. She seemed to know exactly what everyone was thinking, because a spark of panic was in her eyes, mingled with her confusion.

Peter just pulled her close again, kissing her on the forehead. Demetri fought against the disgust he felt. _That's not disgusting though,_ he realized. _Kissing someone on the forehead is actually quite a kind gesture. I just don't like that __**he's**__ the one doing it._ He quickly pushed the thought from his mind though. There was no room in the plan for personal thoughts and feelings.

He was really snapped from his thoughts when Peter came up to him, leaving Annie gazing out the window, most likely sorting out her thoughts. Demetri never knew anymore, because she always had her mind blocked, even to the group.

"Can you help me keep an eye on her?" Peter spoke in a low voice, no doubt hoping Annie wouldn't hear. Not like it mattered; if she asked Demetri, which she would, he was going to tell her.

Demetri nodded. "You think she's getting it, don't you? The sickness, I mean."

Peter's face was grim. "I hope I'm wrong, really, I don-"

Demetri put a hand on the king's shoulder. "It might not be that, you know," he paused, knowing he had Peter's attention now. Anything but his precious Annie having the sickness. "She's been having those nightmares, and they could be having negative effects on her. I wouldn't be surprised, actually, if that's what it is." Normally Demetri wouldn't be trying to soothe the king's fears, because any chaos among the Narnians was helpful to the plan. But this presented an opening he couldn't pass up.

"Can you help her? You have that book, the one the guard dropped off." Peter's voice was desperate.

Demetri nodded. "I'll do everything I can, I just need time to go through the book with her."

"You're right," Peter agreed. "Whatever it takes, Demetri, just please help her. I wish I could."

"You're doing everything you can," Demetri assured him. _Everything you can to leave me alone with her._

Annie and Demetri left Peter so he could visit his siblings. Annie would have gone with him, but he was already so antsy about her getting sick, or already being sick, that he had sent her off with Demetri.

_If only he knew what happened the last time I was alone with Demetri, _she thought. Still, part of her was dying to get away from Peter and talk to Demetri, just for different reasons. Demetri had been there in the arena; he had seen the guard too. He must know that she wasn't crazy.

"Demetri," she sat down next to him in the library, where he was paging through the Elementor book. "You know that it was a different guard in the arena than the one with Peter, right?"

When he looked at her, he looked nervous, which was never a good sign. Demetri was never nervous. "Dem, please, I'm not crazy, and you know it."

He sighed and looked back at the book before putting his hand on hers and really looking at her. "Annie, I know this is hard for you to believe, but think about it logically; does it really make sense that Peter, the guards, and me are wrong when you're the only one who disagrees?"

She scowled at him, but it was out of frustration, not anger.

"I'm sorry, Annie," he rubbed her hand with his thumb gently, trying to console her. "But don't worry; I don't think you're sick."

Between him touching her hand in a way that she couldn't decide was out of bounds or not and the fact that he didn't think she was sick, he had Annie's attention again. "What do you think it is then? Assuming I'm wrong, that is."

He chuckled lightly. "You are so stubborn," he murmured as he let go of her hands to show her a page of the book. "The nightmares you have, they're normal for Elementors at your stage."

"My stage?"

"Yes, stage. It's the point in your training and skill that you're at," he explained before continuing. "Dante had the same nightmares, I'm sure you remember."

"Of course I do," she said. "But what do the nightmares have to do with me not having the sickness?"

"The nightmares have side effects, and some of them are quite nasty," he explained, patient as ever. "One of the side effects involved delusions and hallucinations."

Annie let out a breath of relief. "It's so good that I'm not sick-" she stopped when she saw the strange look Demetri was giving her. He was smiling, but it was a sad smile. "What?"

"You're weren't even scared of being sick, were you?"

"Of course I was!"

"Yes, but were you afraid because you would be stuck in a coma? Or because you would die?" He sighed when she wasn't getting it. "Or were you just afraid because it would have upset Peter?"

Annie squirmed, feeling guilty. She shouldn't have, but she did. Demetri had even admitted that he had feelings for her and she just felt so bad for him. "Not just Peter," she defended. "Conan, Dante, Odette, the twins, and you."

There was an awkward silence after she added him to the list. It just lingered in the air, almost saying _'Here I am; take me as you will'_.

And that's just what Demetri did. He leaned in towards her, his hand holding her cheek ever so gently. Annie was frozen with shock. There were so many thoughts racing through her head at once. First of all, it seemed so much worse that this time he was making a move on her in the castle, because it was Peter's home and all. Second, he just looked so much like Mitch. The only difference was their hair color, since Mitch's was brown and Demetri's was a very light blonde color. But his eyes- oh Demetri's eyes looked just like Mitch's.

And he wouldn't take those eyes off of her as he leaned in, probably just waiting for her to pull away. But maybe Annie was crazy now, maybe she was getting sick.

Because she didn't pull away.

Her entire body was tense, but she relaxed as Demetri's lips met hers. She wove her hands into his hair, leaning into the kiss. She felt practically high off of it and it sent her thoughts whirling incoherently. Demetri's hands held her face as if it was the most precious thing in the world.

Even if Annie was going crazy, she wasn't gone yet. She pulled away, quite abruptly, breathing heavily. She just sat there, looking Demetri right in the eyes as he met her gaze. Even the air around them seemed heavy, like it was filled with awkwardness.

Or something else, perhaps.

Annie shook her head. "That _cannot_ happen again." She stood up and pushed her chair in. "Ever."

Demetri watched as she flat out ran from the library before he could say a word. He sighed, running a hand through his disheveled hair. He couldn't help but think about the fact that just moments ago, her hands had been there. He could hardly believe it, really.

A chill filled the room and he turned around, expecting to see his mistress, but all that was there was a slip of paper, floating downwards. He grabbed it midair and read it.

_Good work,_ was all it said. The chill was enough of an answer as to who it was from. He crumpled up the paper and burned it with a quickly muttered spell. He leaned against the cold stone wall, trying to sort through all of the feelings rushing through his head. Accomplishment, guilt, sadness, jealousy, longing.

Mostly the last few, though.


	29. The Breakdown Begins

After doing his exercises, or most of them anyways, Conan went looking for Annie. One of the guards told him that she was in the library with Demetri. The closer he got to the library though, the more he wished that the guard had told him otherwise. He could tell that both Annie and Demetri were blocking their thoughts, which was a new habit of Annie's, but Demetri never blocked out Conan.

Something was not good. Their thoughts were cleared guarded, but the walls around their thoughts were getting wishy-washy, as if they didn't have enough focus to keep up the block.

He peered into the library, determined to see why they were acting so strangely. But what he saw was so strange it made everything else pale in comparison.

They were kissing.

Annie & Demetri were kissing. And it wasn't just a little peck on the mouth or anything either; they were all over eachother! Demetri was holding her face and Annie's fingers were twined through Demetri's hair. Conan just stood there, not able to believe what he was seeing.

The world seemed to start spinning again when Annie pulled away and ran off, away from Demetri but right into Conan. She stopped dead, panic clear in her eyes and her half-guarded thoughts.

"How long have you been here?" It would have sounded more demanding if she didn't sound exhausted and panicked.

"Long enough, Annie," Conan answered, still in shock. "What are you doing? Think of Peter! How could you do something like this to him?"

"I know, Conan, I know," Annie sounded beyond exhausted, but Conan wasn't going to let up that easily.

"No, you don't know, because if you knew, you wouldn't have kissed Demetri!" Conan was almost yelling now, and Annie pressed both of her tiny hands over his mouth.

"Don't go shouting it to the Heavens!" She hissed the words, hoping he would take up the same volume next time he spoke. "You don't understand what's happening, okay? There are just some things about Demetri that you don't know, and I'm sorry, but you're just going to have to accept for the time being."

Conan looked down guiltily. _Some things about him that __**I **__don't know? If only she knew,_ he thought, thinking of how he knew that something was very, _very_ wrong with Demetri. But he didn't say anything to Annie. Her hands were still on his mouth after all; quite a good excuse in his book.

"I'm sorry, Conan, I know it's bad, but I have problems, and Demetri has problems, and our problems are just not mixing very well at all," Annie attempted to explain, pulling her hands off of Conan's mouth.

"I won't tell anyone," Conan muttered.

Annie's eyes lit up. "Really?"

Conan nodded. She ruffled his hair, trying to smile but only managing a grimace. "Thank you."

Conan sighed as Annie ran off, probably going to get into more trouble. _Isn't getting into trouble supposed to my job? I'm the little one, after all._

Annie ran through the castle, just needing to get outside and away from everyone. She was just thinking about how much she needed to be alone when she ran, literally, into Peter.

He smiled, chuckling as he pulled her right into an embrace. Annie felt guilt washing over her like tsunami waves. She felt so awful, and as wrong as it was, she tried to find some comfort in Peter's arms.

She was burying her face into his shoulder when he leaned close to her ear and said, "Why don't we do something special tonight; just you and me?"

She pulled back a bit, trying not to let any of her guilt show. "Like what?"

Peter shrugged. "I was thinking we could go horseback riding, like when you first came here," he smiled at the memories. "Only this time we won't get into a fight and almost get killed."

Annie couldn't help but laugh as well. "Sounds like a plan," she agreed softly. "But I really need to meditate right now," she paused when Peter looked concerned. "It was in the book, the one Demetri has," she explained. "It might help me relax a bit."

"Oh, alright then. I'll meet you after dinner, okay?" Peter's hands lingered on her waist and he leaned in a bit as he spoke.

Annie's eyes widened as Peter started to lean in, so she quickly said, "Sounds good, I'll see you then." With a quick kiss on his cheek, she pulled away and left the castle, feeling like she was drowning in her guilt.

Peter merely stared after her, slightly confused.

Annie didn't stop running for a long time. She ran through the courtyard in front of the castle, through the surrounding forest, and she kept running until the pain in her sides finally sharpened enough that she collapsed in a huge field.

She fell to the ground and was surrounded by a straw-like plant that was almost as tall as her. Her hands shook as she pressed them to the ground. She took at her frustration on the earth, ripping the terrain up and sending it flying away from her.

After a few moments of earth-tearing, Annie stood up, only to find the field spinning around her, as if she was about to pass out. Maybe she was. Maybe she was sick. Or maybe it was just those stupid nightmares that never let her get any rest.

She nearly fell back to the ground again, but she found her footing, holding her arms out to keep her balance. But her sleep-deprived insanity was far from gone. She looked up at the sky, glaring at the overcast grey clouds above her. For some reason, it all came crashing down on her in that moment.

"Why am I here?" She shouted the words out, to no one in particular. "What am I supposed to do about Peter? And Jadis? She's bound to come after me sooner or later, and when she does, who is she going to hurt next? And what's going on with Demetri? Why does he look so much like-" As she went on, her voice became less demanding and angry and just turned into sobs. "Mitch! Why did you let me live!" When there was no answer, Annie's anger came back into her sobs. "You coward! Answer me! I finally figured out that you took the easy way!"

There was a cold hand on Annie's shoulder, and she nearly jumped out of her skin. She turned to see the translucent form of her best friend staring at her sadly. "Neither way was easy for me, Annie. Both ways had me losing you. And how could you expect me to let you die? Would you have been able to let me die if the situation was reversed?"

Annie bit her lip, tears rolling down her face. "You don't understand, Mitch," her voice was desperate. "Everything is all wrong. People are sick, and dying, and I think it's all because Jadis wants me dead. Peter could die, and it would be because of me. And not just Peter, his siblings. Edmund, Lucy, and even Susan, I can't let them get hurt just because Jadis wants me dead."

Mitch didn't say anything, because he knew Annie was far from done; she was just stopping for breath, something Mitch would never need to do again.

"And what about Dante? He'll come back to find someone from our group hurt, and he'll blame _himself_! We already almost lost Conan, and Odette has the twins, though they're hardly safer with her, thanks to her family being allied with Jadis. And Demetri," she stopped, not even knowing where to begin about him. "Why does he look so much like you?" Her voice was on the verge of a sob again. "He even sounds like you." She buried her face in her hands and nearly fell over from the vertigo.

Mitch steadied her, putting his ghostly hands on her shoulders to do as much as he could. "He's a lot like me, Annie," Mitch said gently, smiling sadly when she looking up at him with tear-filled green eyes. "Inside and out."

Annie shook her head. "No, not on the inside. You are two very different people."

"Just wait Annie, you'll see just how similar Demetri and I really are. It's almost like we started out exactly the same way, but we just made different choices." Mitch paused, staring at Annie's mouth as if he could tell that Demetri's lips had been on hers not long ago. "Though maybe not completely different choices."

"What am I supposed to do, Mitch?" Annie's voice was a desperate whisper.

"You have to figure things out for yourself Annie, or at least with the help of the living, just like everyone else," Mitch answered, sounding almost pained.

"That's not fair, you're the reason I'm dealing with all of this!" The words had left her mouth before she could stop them. _And now I'm blaming Mitch, my dead best friend and first love who saved my life. What's happening to me?_

Something broke in Mitch's expression, and he turned cold. It wasn't a harsh cold, like his mother, but a sad cold, like there wasn't anything in his world that could ever provide warmth for him again. "I don't regret saving your life Annie, and I never will," his voice nearly broke Annie's heart. "But think about what made you so sure that Demetri and I were different. There's something you're sensing about him, and you shouldn't ignore that."

He was gone all too soon. Even considering what she had said to him, Annie couldn't believe that his parting words were about Demetri. She had only encountered Mitch's ghost a handful of times, and she had no way of knowing when, or if, honestly, she would see him again.

And she had just blamed him for everything that was wrong in her life.

She sunk back down onto her knees again as a whole new onslaught of tears started streaming down her face.

**I think I'm going to make this fic be around 40 chapters. I'm going to make an immediate sequel, but I want some sort of separation, otherwise I'll keep stalling the plot. Please review with thoughts about that, and also about the chapter, my writing, and please, any opinions and ideas about the story in general. When I get writer's block, I turn to you wonderful readers for muse.**


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